The aim of the Digital Inclusion Grant Funding programmes are to complement the programme’s wider discovery work and bring key learning from organisations working to make digital inclusion a reality for people at risk of drug related harm and death. Digital Lifelines Scotland is grant funding organisations to continue their work in digital inclusion to provide us with vital learning and, most importantly, ensures they have the funds to continue their vital work.
Early Adopters 1
Early Adopters 1
Launched September 2021 with an aim to understand in greater detail what interventions work most effectively with which people under what circumstances. We provided small grants to ‘overlay’ the provision of digital inclusion interventions on to some innovation projects funded through the Drug Deaths Taskforce, who encompass a wide range of circumstances and people operating across Scotland in urban and rural areas. They seek to innovate with a wide range of different approaches and service designs, including around the Medicine Assisted Treatment Standards, overdose response, peer to peer naloxone supply, families Holding On project, and a Scottish Ambulance Service roll out of take-home naloxone.
Nine projects received grants of up to £15,000.
Click here to find our Early Adopter 1 interim report and other reports.
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Organisation |
Description |
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East Ayrshire ADP sits within the Health and Social Care Partnership and works with partners throughout the Council to reduce alcohol and drug-related harms. |
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CHAI supports and empowers people and communities across Edinburgh and Midlothian through free, confidential, high-quality, impartial advice, information and representation on welfare benefits, money, housing and employability. |
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A multi-agency group with representatives from statutory and voluntary sector organisations. The group delivers key outcomes to address substance misuse in Angus; influences the planning and commissioning of substance misuse services and ensures that the provision of these services meets local needs and priorities. |
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Clued Up provides a comprehensive “youth friendly” substance use support and information service to young people under 25 across Fife, also targeting the wider issues of general well-being and lifestyle. The project provides education, prevention, early intervention and diversion for young people affected by their own or someone else’s drug/alcohol/substance use.
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Peer and volunteer led community group for people in recovery providing a diverse range of activities (open to family, friends and children), support, social events and access to new experiences and opportunities to reduce isolation and loneliness and to promote recovery. |
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Fife ADP (Alcohol and Drugs Partnership) - FASS Action, Adapt Project |
ADAPT is the main drug and alcohol triage service in Fife. It provides assessment of need and referral to specialist drug and alcohol services within the NHS and Third Sector as well as providing information, education and early interventions that help prevent problems. |
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Fife ADP (Alcohol and Drugs Partnership) - Frontline Fife Homelessness Services |
The Recovery Link service is offered to those with drug and/or alcohol addictions who wish to either begin the road to recovery or who need help to sustain their recovery programme. |
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Scottish Recovery Consortium supports, represents and connects recovery across Scotland. |
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A Scottish social innovation charity with a passion for solving social issues. Based in Edinburgh and East Lothian, working with people and communities to develop innovative strategies and services to address social issues both locally and nationally. |
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A charity based within South Lanarkshire which supports families and loved ones who have been affected by someone else’s substance use. The support is person centred, and individuals are supported via 1:1, support group both face to face and online. |
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Turning Point Scotland specialises in supporting people facing the most complex and challenging situations. TPS delivers improvement in Scotland’s social care sector through high quality services, leadership and innovation. |
Early Adopters 2
Early Adopters 2
Launched in April 2022, the second phase of Early Adopters aimed to address issues that have been identified as pain points where digital inclusion intervention could be of benefit: within the field of homelessness, at the point of discharge from hospital or residential services, and in the very early time following release from custody.
Nine projects received grants of up to £85,000.
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Organisation |
Description |
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A national charity dedicated to ending homelessness in Scotland, one person, one family and one community at a time.
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Glasgow City Mission is the world’s first City Mission. Since 1826, they have been showing Christian care to vulnerable adults and children by fighting against poverty and disadvantage in Glasgow. |
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The Grassmarket Community Project takes an innovative approach to creating community, providing sanctuary and support to people dealing with multiple complex issues. These include homelessness, mental/physical health problems, learning difficulties, poverty, substance misuse, physical abuse and more. |
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Recovery Enterprises Scotland vision is for the support needs of individuals, family & friends & members of the local community looking to engage in, support & sustain recovery from multiple barriers. |
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An independent voluntary organisation and charitable company limited by guarantee. We have been working in the Forth Valley area since 1975 and we have recently engaged in partnership working in South and North Lanarkshire. |
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The Salvation Army expresses its faith through charitable action by working at the heart of communities across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. With 650 churches and community centres that offer friendship, practical help and support to some of the most disadvantaged people in communities. |
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Shine is a national mentoring service for women offenders. The service is provided as a Public Social Partnership (PSP); a strategic partnership between public and voluntary sector organisations. Shine was launched in April 2013 and is now available all across Scotland. |
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Simon Community Scotland focuses on providing housing and support for people facing homelessness. Working across Scotland, the charity supports people to resolve their homelessness and recover from extremely difficult circumstances. |
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Turning Point Scotland specialises in supporting people facing the most complex and challenging situations. TPS delivers improvement in Scotland’s social care sector through high quality services, leadership and innovation. |
Early Adopters 3
Early Adopters 3
Launched in January 2024, the third phase of Early Adopters aimed to address the known gaps in the programme within the three thematic areas we have focussed on: within the field of homelessness, at the point of discharge from hospital or residential services, and in the very early time following release from custody.
Nine projects received grants of up to £50,000.
| Organisation | Description |
| Access to Industry (Dundee) | Access to Industry works across Scotland with unemployed people who face barriers to employment. This project aims to work on an outreach basis with people who are returning to Dundee City following ‘out of area’ residential rehab and have completed a community rehab programme. The people supported will be provided with technology and connectivity to enable them to learn digital skills and how to use digital technology and become confident in accessing to help improve their health and wellbeing alongside their future progression into employment and/or education. |
| Harbour (Ayrshire) | Harbour Ayrshire was set up to deliver (in partnership) a range of solution-focused options, while creating opportunities for some of the most vulnerable people in our society, allowing them to live a life free of the stigma and suffering of addiction. project aims to provide intensive one to one support to people coming out of residential rehab, prison leavers and individuals who were admitted to hospital after near fatal overdose to provide them with digital support to meet their needs. Support will also be extended into rural areas where accessibility to services is an issue. |
| Moving On (Inverclyde) | Moving On Inverclyde is a support service for people affected by their own or another’s problematic use of alcohol or drugs. This project will enable quicker provision of support to more people, helping them to gain connectivity and digital access to family and support services. The project will support individuals being released from prison, for whom digital has moved on considerably since they were last living in the community, back to Inverclyde upon their liberation from prisons across Scotland. |
| Transform Forth Valley | Transform Forth Valley offer a wide range of services to support individuals and families who are impacted by substance use and/or societal, financial or health inequalities. This project will support individuals mostly living alone, isolated from family, friends, and the community they live in, have poor health/mental health, cannot communicate effectively with services without support, and have no internet or mobile device to access appointments. Being digitally included will mean that individuals will have better access to support services and appointments that could improve their physical and mental health, nutrition, access to financial benefits and the opportunity to connect better with others. |
| South Lanarkshire Council | The Alcohol and Drug Problem Solving Court (ADPSC) is a new and unique initiative which aims to primarily reduce drug use levels that are harmful to those in conflict with the law. The project aims to support vulnerable people are supported to assist with housing, financial welfare, employability, mental health and are diverted from the justice system where possible and those in the system are fully supported. Access to a device and connectivity will promote consistent access to all aspects of recovery for individuals and their families. |
| Blue Triangle (Glasgow) Housing Association | Blue Triangle are a social care organisation that empowers people to thrive, by delivering solutions in connected communities which focus on the needs of each individual. This project aims to combine digital equipment and connectivity to existing trauma informed, person-centred support plans. Supported people can be equipped to reduce harm to themselves, by engaging with a range of activities that enhances the progress towards achieving the life goals. The harm reduction training and knowledge provided by Digital Lifelines, plus the digital training for staff, will have a significant development in the approach to support and key work sessions, with people in danger of drug related harm. |
| Liber8 (Lanarkshire Ltd) | Liber8 work with some of South Lanarkshire’s most vulnerable and isolated individuals experiencing many significant challenges including poor physical and mental health, alcohol and substance use, poverty, deprivation and insecure housing. The provision of devices and connectivity will have an enormous positive impact on each individual enabling contact with services and connection with likeminded people in early recovery. |
| Cyrenians | Cyrenians tackles the causes and consequences of homelessness, understanding that there are many routes into homelessness, and that there is no 'one size fits all' approach to supporting people towards more positive and stable futures. The project will provide smart phones and support people transitioning from prison or hospital settings with medicated assisted treatment, attending regular appointments, prevent people being discharged into homelessness and make use of recovery apps. |
| The Marie Trust |
The Marie Trust responds to the complex and often challenging needs of people affected by homelessness, poverty, and social exclusion. This project addresses the problem of very low English literacy in the homeless population (50%+) using digital devices and software to also improve their digital inclusion and digital literacy skills. |
Small Grants
Small Grants
Launched in December 2022, the Small Grants fund aimed to support
Eight projects received grants of up to £10,000.
| Organisation | Description |
| East Ayrshire Churches Homeless Action | East Ayrshire Recovery Hub are dedicated to providing support and resources to individuals who need to embark on their journey to recovery, with a mission to promote and develop recovery groups, activities, volunteering opportunities within East Ayrshire. |
| Restoration Fife | Restoration Fife is a grassroots recovery community group who support people to sustain recovery from substance misuse, during and after treatment, by offering a range of activities in a safe environment |
| Red Chair Highland | Red Chair Highland is a Micro Social Enterprise based in Inverness in the Scottish Highlands, supporting people in crisis or those who are significantly disadvantaged. They operate digital outreach services, providing digital inclusion services across the Highlands to digitally excluded, isolated and vulnerable individuals. |
| Irvine Sports Club | Utilizing the 'No Wrong Door' approach, Irvine Sports Club project 'Time to Talk' brings support, training, employability, rehabilitation services, and signposting to each user providing complete wellbeing support to create stronger, better-connected communities. |
| Recovery Ayr | Recovery Ayr is a grassroots recovery group in South Ayrshire offering peer led support and activities for individuals, families and the local community. |
| Zone Out Partnership | Their project "Up For It" enables volunteer peer educators who are already delivering Zone Out’s SQA peer education programmes (both virtual and in person) across East Dunbartonshire, Edinburgh and North Lanarkshire to further enhance their learning, personal development, self-management skills and social connectedness by developing their digital knowledge, skills and confidence. |
| The Duke of Edinburgh's Award - Perth and Kinross Association | Their project for a digital and community hub provides young people with a warm, fully accessible hub which will enable them to access the support they need, self manage, build networks of like communities for peer support and advocacy (to have a voice and influence policy and service provision) and can access digital support/information/training. |
| Input | Based in Ayrshire Scotland, Input is a charity providing work preparation for people with additional educational needs. Their trainees recycle donated used computers for use by the local community. Through these tasks a work principal is developed and instilled. |
Follow On Fund
Follow On Fund
Launched in July 2023, the Follow On Fund aimed to continue the support of organisations who were previously funded by the programme and had proven wonderful success in supporting people at risk of drug related harm or death through digital inclusion.
Six projects received grants of up to £65,000.
| Organisation | Description |
| People Know How | A Scottish social innovation charity with a passion for solving social issues. Based in Edinburgh and East Lothian, working with people and communities to develop innovative strategies and services to address social issues both locally and nationally. |
| Recovery Enterprises Scotland | Recovery Enterprises Scotland vision is for the support needs of individuals, family & friends & members of the local community looking to engage in, support & sustain recovery from multiple barriers. |
| Angus Alcohol and Drugs Partnership | A multi-agency group with representatives from statutory and voluntary sector organisations. The group delivers key outcomes to address substance misuse in Angus; influences the planning and commissioning of substance misuse services and ensures that the provision of these services meets local needs and priorities. |
| Simon Community Scotland | Simon Community Scotland focuses on providing housing and support for people facing homelessness. Working across Scotland, the charity supports people to resolve their homelessness and recover from extremely difficult circumstances. |
| Grassmarket Community Project | The Grassmarket Community Project takes an innovative approach to creating community, providing sanctuary and support to people dealing with multiple complex issues. These include homelessness, mental/physical health problems, learning difficulties, poverty, substance misuse, physical abuse and more. |
| Recovery Scotland | An independent voluntary organisation and charitable company limited by guarantee. We have been working in the Forth Valley area since 1975 and we have recently engaged in partnership working in South and North Lanarkshire. |
Check out our interactive map to find out where our digital inclusion projects are taking place across Scotland