Enabling people to live connected lives

High-speed internet and broadband services are crucial to building a connected future, said Helen Hasan, founder and CEO of Living Connected.

Helen emphasizes that the synergy of technology, services, knowledge and people is essential for creating inclusive and powerful communities, driving both social and economic progress.

“It’s really important that people can use technology, especially for health,” Helen said.

“Instead of having to drive for an appointment, they can access it online and also get information about managing their own health.

“Not only does this save them money, but it also saves the government money in the long term as people can stay at home for longer rather than moving into aged care facilities and services can also be offered more cheaply online.”

As a not-for-profit community enterprise that provides services for the social well-being of older people through digital inclusion, Living Connected also recognizes that further education is needed to help people access banking services online.

“When a bank closes they just tell people the next branch is down the road, without teaching or encouraging online learning,” Helen said.

The service currently provides drop-in and home visit support along the NSW south coast, from Wollongong north to Batemans Bay and Moruya and Bega. They also work inland in Goulburn and Bundanoon.

If nbn Network upgrades are continuing across the country, Helen hopes Living Connected will grow along with it.

“As NBN improves coverage in regional areas, we now have the opportunity to get more people connected and using online services,” Helen said.

“Where there are fewer people it takes more effort to help them, but it is those people who need the help most and who benefit most from the ability to access services online without having to travel.”

Living Connected grew out of a small research project Helen undertook thirteen years ago to learn how older people interacted with technology.

It started with sessions asking people what they would like to learn and became so popular that it quickly became an organization.

Regional Australians are using more data than ever, with internet use set to increase over the next decade, changing the world and the way we live.

Today, the service helps people with all aspects of technology, from setting up new phones, connecting smartwatches, transferring SIM cards, sorting photos, making video calls, using Word documents – almost everything.

“We help people with everything they want to learn, our main focus now is on helping people to use online health services, such as the pharmacy and the GP, with the recommendation to stay home if you are sick. You can only do that do if you know how to use technology,” Helen said.

While education is central to Living Connected, close contacts are also made within the service.

“The whole team enjoys and gets great satisfaction from what we do and often becomes friends with the customers,” says Helen.

“There are often connections between generations, it’s really great. We had a young volunteer who helped a lady learn how to stay connected when she went on a cruise, but he didn’t know anything about the destination she was going to.

“While he was teaching her how to keep track of where she was going, she was teaching him where she was going.”

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