Helping silver surfers to ride the wave

HALTON Housing Trust is helping older customers in Runcorn and Widnes to use the internet.

The Trust is holding free taster sessions for over 60s at Quarry Court in Widnes on May 18 from 1.30pm to 3.30pm and Queens Close in Runcorn on May 19 from 1pm to 4pm.

Customers from the area are invited to come along and Trust employees will be on hand to help residents get online and give them a gentle introduction to using the internet.

Michelle Phillips, Customer Involvement Officer said “A lot of our residents are interested in genealogy and the internet can be a great resource for researching your family tree,”.

“People are also interested in learning more about Skype as a lot of our customers have family living abroad.

“We will ask customers what they are interested in using the internet for and help them get started.”

The Trust is also keen to improve residents’ computer skills as it will soon be introducing Choice Based Lettings which will offering people the chance to bid for homes online, as well as through other methods.

The taster sessions, which are being held in conjunction with Halton Libraries, will offer one-to-one support and visitors will be able to have a go on a Wii console at Quarry Court and Queens Close.

Michelle added: “Using the computer and internet is a part of daily life for a lot of people but nearly two-thirds of over 65-year-olds have never been online.

“We are here to take the fear away from using the computer for those people and provide a gentle introduction to the internet.”

The sessions are being run as part of Digital Unite’s Spring Online Silver Surfers’ Event which runs from May 16th  to May 20th

To book a session on a laptop at for Quarry Court or Queens Close please contact Michelle Phillips, Customer Involvement Officer on 0151 510 5184 or email michelle.phillips@haltonhousing.org

Sessions are also being held in Halton Libraries, to find out more contact Widnes Library call 0151 907 8383 and for Halton Lea Library contact Halton Borough Council on 01928 704 455