The Nepalese Himalayan Association of Scotland (NHAS) is a local charity in Aberdeen that acts as a hub for the city’s Nepalese community .

When Digital Outreach appointed Aberdeen Council of Voluntary Organisations (ACVO) as a lead organisation for the Community Outreach Programme, ACVO got in touch with NHAS to ask if they would feature switchover in their programme of events.

NHAS was keen to take part, and successfully applied to Digital Outreach for a grant of £480 to contribute to a large gathering being planned for the Nepalese community in May. ACVO trained Dr Narayan Shrestha, Chair of the NHAS, so that he could give a talk about switchover and answer questions. Dr Shrestha reassured people about the process, explained the help available, and distributed leaflets. The event was a huge success and over 200 people attended.

West Dunbartonshire CVS is helping to get information and advice about switchover to communities in the STV Central region.

In West Dunbartonshire, the local authority has an annual Christmas payout to women over 60 and men over 65 to help make sure older people can afford fuel and other necessities over winter. The local authority payout has been running for many years.

The money is paid out at a five-day event run by a local voluntary organisation, Clydebank Older People’s Welfare Association. Around 2,000 older people living in West Dunbartonshire came along to receive their payments.

West Dunbartonshire CVS got in touch with Clydebank Older People’s Welfare Association to see if they could come along and help, and train the volunteers to give information about the digital TV switchover. The welfare association thought this was a great idea and together they were able to share leaflets, information, advice and support to over 2,000 local people, many of whom were eligible for the Help Scheme. They answered people’s questions, gave them information to take away with them, and signposted people to the Digital UK advice line.

CSV Birmingham delivered a briefing session about switchover to Speakeasy N.O.W, a charity for people with learning disabilities in Worcestershire.

Speakeasy N.O.W. applied for a grant to provide transport to assist users to get to the centre. At each table, a carer was there to explain anything that the group did not understand. After the presentation CSV Birmingham provided one-to-one advice to each member of the group based on their individual circumstances. Most of the group had digital on their main TV but needed to convert their other TVs.

The members found the information very helpful, and are interested in running some further events.

Voluntary Action Orkney (VAO) was appointed as a lead organisation for the STV North region because of their excellent links with the local community.

Voluntary Action Orkney identified 135 local organisations and made contact with them all to explain switchover, the grants programme, offer them training and encourage them to incorporate switchover information into their existing activities and events. They are based in the same building as many community groups such as Age Concern Orkney, Orkney Carer’s Centre and the Citizens Advice Bureau and this really helped to get other organisations on board.

"Because of our community connections and local knowledge, we were very important in spreading the message about switchover and making sure people knew about the Help Scheme and the Digital UK advice line.

"We are a respected partner so voluntary organisations were keen to get involved. We had information about the switchover displayed in our window and with all the outreach work we did in the months leading up to switchover, we became known as the place to go for advice. We held one of the four advice points in our offices and people know that if they come to us we can answer their questions or point them in the right direction."

Edwina Cook, Voluntary Action Orkney

CSV Birmingham delivered a session about switchover to 30 members of the Bridgnorth and District Senior Citizens Forum. The forum applied for a grant of £100 to pay for hall hire, postage, stationery and stamps so they could promote the event to their members.

After the presentation CSV were inundated with questions about the Help Scheme, how recording equipment would work after switchover, what digital boxes were and how to use them, and which transmitter they received their TV signal from. After the questions, many members said that the talk was very informative.

"Thank you very much for coming to give a switchover presentation to members of the Bridgnorth and District Senior Citizens Forum. Our members found it extremely helpful, as I think you will have realised by the questions they asked."

Margaret Cosh. Chair, Bridgnorth and Senior Citizens Forum.

Mr and Mrs C

Mr and Mrs C attend a lunch club every week. The local lead organisation had arranged to come along with information about switchover for anyone who would like some advice. Mr and Mrs C brought along their TV manual so that they could see if their TV would need to be switch to digital. They were also interested in finding out more about their options for recording, as they usually enjoy different programmes and Mrs C was worried that she would miss Coronation Street.

After discussing the options with the staff from the lead organisation, Mr and Mrs C decided on the best option for them. They were very pleased to be able to get some advice that was based on their own circumstances and were happy that they knew they would be able to carry on recording programmes after the switchover.

Mrs E

Mrs E, a single mother and carer, contacted the local lead organisation because she was quite concerned about the expense involved in switchover and wanted to know if she could get financial help. Staff at the lead organisation were able to put her mind at rest by explaining that she did not need to buy a new TV, that she could get a digital box from around £20 and as long as her current reception was good she wouldn’t need a new aerial either. Mrs E felt very reassured by this news.

Julie and Maura

Julie and Maura, two friends in their 60s, went along to a switchover advice point in Fort William run by local charity Voluntary Action Lochaber. Julie’s son had bought her a digital box a few months before switchover, but she wasn’t sure how to use it. Maura was having problems re-tuning her digital box.

The friendly volunteers showed Maura and Julie how to plug in their digital boxes and connect them up to the TV, and how to re-tune them. They were able to practice re-tuning on the demonstration equipment at the advice point. The two women were pleased that they could get some face-to-face advice and went away feeling confident about using the new equipment.