From Participants
“It has made my life much easier. It came just in time for me to start an IT course online over zoom as well as job search.”
“This opportunity gave me the freedom to work from home when things shut down again and still gives me the freedom to work from home on days I’m not well as I deal with a chronic illness that sometimes keeps me from leaving the house.”
“It saved my life. I’m suicidal and it’s kept me alive. It has kept my mind occupied.”
“Having home internet access and a device has allowed me to connect through email with my family more, especially those family members living outside of the province. Before I would call them, but it cost me to make long distance calls.”
“I can find community resources and service much better now and have been able to access membership at a local recreation centre. I feel like this is the best thing I have right now!”
“The GEO program has provided opportunities that in the past, we missed out on. It’s also provided an incentive to learn more. With everything we could ever want to know at our fingertips, I have nothing but positive things to say about this program.”
“In one word, WONDERFUL!!! I wish this program had been available years ago.”
“It is reassuring to have access to the internet for a solid year for college. It helps me with being able to perform my online course and homework that I need to accomplish in order for me to obtain my degree as a survey technician.”
“It has made a very positive improvement in my life. Previously I had to find free wifi spots and then sometimes the service wasn’t available or too many people were using at the same time and there wasn’t any privacy. Now from the comfort of home I can use the net freely for job searches and emails.”
“My computer skills are very basic but thanks to this program I am steadily getting more comfortable with the Chromebook. I appreciate the fact that I was given a top notch piece of equipment and am working on improving my computer skills.”
“I now have email so I can keep in contact with my family and send and receive messages. We’ve been able to watch movies and TV; something we’ve not been able to do till now. I’ve been able to do research and get information about community activities and opportunities that interest us.”
“I intend to set up Zoom so that my daughter and I can visit/video chat with my brother who lives in another province. Having internet access has changed our lives in such a positive manner. It has opened up the world to us.”
“The impact on the quality of my life has been enormous on so many levels.”
“My internet access helps me manage my budget, in particular regarding my grocery bill. Where I live, we are no longer accepting the weekly flyers, yet those flyers are a crucial part of managing my grocery budget. Accessing them on-line from home means I spend my grocery dollars usefully, and well.”
“Being able to look up dentists in my area, read reviews, use online contact information to make calls, meant I was able to find a dentist. It’s meant finding a good walk-in clinic. It’s meant looking up health information on websites such as the Mayo Clinic, National Institutes of Health, as well as Health Canada and Nova Scotia Health, which in turn makes any information-seeking contacts more focused and time-effective.”
From Referral Partners
“[One resident] did a whole bunch of training online, and now she is working full time because of having access to the internet.”
“One gentleman has some health concerns, so he accesses the internet for health appointments and things like that. But also, he just had a new grandchild who was born in Newfoundland! He is using the internet to communicate back and forth with his daughter in Newfoundland and get to know his grandchild, which is really wonderful.”
“One of our participants actually got connected to AA because of her access to the internet. She attended her first meeting online.”
“Being able to use some kind of video chat, so they can see you, and you can see them – then you can physically check in with them, right? Because someone can tell you they’re fine over the phone, but if you don’t have eyes on them and you don’t have eyes on their apartment you don’t really know if they are OK. So being able to have eyes on them has been really important.”
“One of our participants is in a wheelchair. Getting her connected to the internet and a computer is giving her a lifeline. It’s helping to fill her day, she doesn’t have a television, she doesn’t have money for the internet, right? She would just be kind of sitting there in her living room all day every day.”
“One participant moved into the program who hasn’t lived alone in 15 years. That’s a very long time. The adjustment has been very, very difficult for them. Having the internet for them has been huge. They can be connected and stay busy and look stuff up and It’s been really positive for them. I honestly don’t think they would have been successfully housed without the internet.”
“Our participants really appreciate being able to connect with family, to be able to have a doctor’s appointment online, to hook up with counseling services. Now they can access employment opportunities, access to the news, and what’s going on in the world. it just opens up a world of opportunity for them.”
“Not only are they gaining the benefits of our programming online, but with the connection of the internet and with the devices, they’re able to search out other resources from the comfort of their own homes. They’re able to apply for jobs from home, they’re able to connect with loved ones and friends.”
“This program has allowed for more people to access the services that East Preston Empowerment Academy provides. As a result of GEO Nova Scotia, individuals who did not have access to the internet or the technology to participate in the online program that we offer have been able to do so.”
“GEO Nova Scotia has provided our clients with an opportunity to use the internet in the comfort of their homes, relieving clients from having to use the public libraries, friends place, etc. Clients were able to access online resources such as banking, workshops, job searches, and job applications.”
“This allowed us to fill a gap for clients that could not afford access to the internet and were extremely socially isolated. Our clients could now attend programming when mental health and COVID restrictions were preventing them from doing so in person. GEO Nova Scotia provides hope for sustainability in conquering the digital divide for our clients.”
What it’s like to work with GEO Nova Scotia
“Engaging with GEO Nova Scotia has been excellent! I mean, you guys are very quick to get back to people and you’ve been fabulous. I mean, it’s seamless!”
“Get Everyone Online (GEO) referral and application process is barrier free – it is the first time in a long time that there are no barriers for a participant to access a service. It was such a pleasure to go through this process – it was quick and seamless while keeping participant dignity at the forefront. Way to go GEO, and thank you”
“GEO Nova Scotia has been very organized, easy to access, easy to use, and also very responsive. You don’t send a message and wait a week or two weeks to find out what’s going on. It’s almost instantaneous! We really appreciate it.”
“It was an easy referral process. And I think, in this day and age, that is super important to keep it simple. We talk about service providers working in silos and this is a time when that certainly did not happen. Everybody was really working together, and it was noticeable. That’s what I really enjoyed about working with GEO.”
Transforming lives through digital inclusion