Second Life: Disability charity sets up virtual advice service
A charity that helps the parents of disabled children contact each other and access services has set up an office in the virtual world of Second Life.
The charity, Contact a Family, is using government funding to create the digital office to support its work giving parents information and mutual support.
Mark Robertson, Contact a Family's head of information, explains: "The first place anybody goes for information these days is the internet. There are issues with accessing support in real life, even popping out to a local advice centre. Online and telephone support is and has been for some time important to parents of disabled children."
Second Life, a virtual reality world where users can adopt new identities (avatars), conduct business and even raise families, may seem an odd place for the charity to reach its audience.
But Contact a Family insists it is are only going where the parents already are. As those caring for disabled children may find it hard to leave the house and get help, many seek refuge in the virtual world and in online communities.
"It's an attractive and new way of reaching parents," says Robertson.
The office started running a fortnight ago and is open online every Wednesday from 10am to 4pm. Parents, represented by their avatars, can stop in for a chat with a staff member. Alternatively, they can come by when the office is closed to browse.
"We don't have to be open to use the office. It's a bit like an online library," says Robertson.
Visitors have included one mother whose son has a rare condition called dyskeratosis congentia, of which there are only 66 known cases in the world. The adviser was able to give her the contact details of a parent support group and the leading medical specialist for the condition. Other parents have dropped by wanting to meet people in the same situation.
"There's been small numbers, but it's really early," says Robertson. "If it's successful it will take time." If enough people do drop by, real world meetups may be on the cards.
Contact a Family also runs support groups on social sites Facebook, MySpace and Bebo, as well as its own network, makingcontact.org. It has also set up its own YouTube channel.
The charity's online support project was created with funding from the Department of Children, Schools and Families' parent know how initiative, a programme intended to develop new channels to reach parents who are not as well served by traditional sources of support.
Source: Guardian
