COMMUNITIES across Glasgow are supporting the Evening Times Streets Ahead campaign, which is back for its fourth year.

By encouraging neighbours to work together, the initiative supports projects and events across the city, designed to improve life for all.

One successful initiative benefiting residents in some of the city's poorest areas is Glasgow Housing Association's Click and Connect service.

Our campaign partner's parent organisation, the Wheatley Group, in partnership with Glasgow Kelvin College, supports 30 new or upgraded centres, providing free internet access and learning support to more than 8500 people over the next five years.

At Townhead Village Hall, residents are already reaping the benefits.

"On a typical day in here, you've got seven-year-old kids researching their homework, adults looking for college places and grandparents talking to their grandkids halfway around the world," says David Douglas, caretaker.

"There is a great atmosphere and you can see people getting more confident each time they come in."

It has been a rough few years for David, a former company boss whose business - selling construction fixings to the building trade - went bankrupt at the height of the recession.

"I lost everything - my business, my home, my marriage - after 35 years - and contact with my grandkids," he explains.

"I slept in my car for two weeks with my stuff in a black bin bag, until a friend told me about the council's homeless unit.

"They helped me get a place to live but I had nothing.

"I had to start from scratch and try to apply for work. I couldn't afford a phone, so I came to Click and Connect, and got help learning how to use e-mail and search the internet."

David adds: "It's pretty daunting, when you're not clued up about the internet, to walk in and ask for help.

"I'd never written a CV before, never had to look for work. But they give you a lot of support."

Evelyn McDowall, who manages GHA's digital programme, explained: "Glasgow has one of the lowest levels of broadband uptake in the whole of the UK.

"Only 43% of our tenants are online, compared to more than 80% of the general population, and not having broadband at home puts you at a great disadvantage.

"You can't search for jobs or training, access some benefit information, or get the best deals on comparison websites, for example, for electricity and gas.

"It's all the everyday things - like benefitting from online-only deals from supermarkets when you are doing your shopping, for example - that most of us take for granted."

She adds: "The UK Government's welfare reform changes mean it is even more important for people to have free internet access on their doorstep. In the long term, we want to do everything we can to help people in our communities get online by finding ways of providing lowcost broadband in their own homes.

"But the Click and Connect centres are a vital first step in helping build people's confidence in working online and the range of people using them has been fantastic."

In the process of visiting the centre, David Douglas learned the job of caretaker was available and successfully applied. Now he helps other Click and Connect users get up and running.

"It's a great idea, and it hasn't just helped people with everyday stuff, it's also brought the community together," he said.

"I didn't know anyone when I moved here and I could quite easily have stayed that way. But now I know everyone - walking up here, I said hello to about 40 people."