Digital Lifelines Scotland and delivery partner Simon Community Scotland feature in the BBC News

The DLS Team were thrilled to see the programme feature on the BBC News. The piece highlighted the importance of digitally including people at risk of drug related harm and creating digital connections that most of us take for granted. 

Launched in April 2021, Digital Lifelines has so far supported more than 1,700 participants throughout Scotland, with 1,056 devices – typically android smartphones – and 1,467 connectivity packages with unlimited data provided.

Delivery Partners Simon Community Scotland highlighted the importance of the work and the impact they are seeing on the frontline. Their digital inclusion officers reported that "For anyone who thinks the devices would be misused for other purposes, the overwhelming majority of devices are well loved and well used." 

Scotland continues to have an unacceptably high number of drug related deaths, but the challenges are not unique to this country, and that’s why this progressive approach is attracting attention from other nations as well as across the UK. In the 21st century, we need to take multiple different approaches to reducing harm and death from drug use by supporting people and tackling stigma. Digital Lifelines is a prime example of that. The model has been proven to work with other groups, and has been tailored to help people at risk of harm through drugs.

Read the full article on the BBC website