Building stronger communities
We can create shared value by investing in social projects and partnerships that deliver positive impacts in health, education and the environment. Here are a few of the ways we are taking action in our communities.
Internet for Good: Removing barriers to connectivity
Every child should have the opportunity to realize their potential. Access to the internet gives families in need more opportunities to succeed. That’s why we launched our Internet for Good program in 2016.
Internet for Good is an innovative collaboration between TELUS, the British Columbia Ministry of Social Innovation and Social Development, and the Ministry of Community and Social Services in Alberta. The program aims to identify and qualify eligible participants and remove economic barriers to in-home connectivity through:
- High-speed internet for just $9.95 per month
- Low-cost refurbished laptops
- Free digital literacy resources, such as TELUS Wise, our free internet security and cyberbullying program
We are working with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada to expand this program across Canada to reach more families in need. Our aim is to increase the number of eligible families from 18,000 in BC and AB to over 400,000 families coast to coast.
- 1.3M Canadian children live in poverty.
- 42% of Canadian households with annual incomes of $30,000 or less do not have home internet access.
- 70% of teachers assign homework that requires internet access.
- Students with internet access at home have a 7% higher rate of graduation compared with those without.
Mobility for Good: Connecting young people to vital services
Connecting youth to vital services is crucial to enable their future success. Access to a mobile device and data plan gives vulnerable young adults more opportunities to succeed.
Through Mobility for Good, we are helping young Canadians build their independence and confidence. TELUS collaborated with the BC Government’s Ministry of Children and Family Development to support young adults transitioning from foster care. Young adults in the Agreement with Young Adults Program receive a smartphone and fully subsidized TELUS Mobility rate plan for two years.
This opens up access to services and resources, such as job training and employment opportunities. It also helps them stay connected with friends, family and their community. Importantly, the program also gives young people a reliable way for prospective employers, post-secondary institutions, potential landlords and healthcare services to contact them.
Our digital literacy training programs and TELUS Wise resources help these young adults get the most out of the technology. Training includes how to keep a clean digital footprint and ways to protect their personal information and privacy. In partnership with the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada, we plan to expand this program from BC to Ontario, and across Canada.
- Vulnerable youth struggle to afford a mobile phone that enables connectivity with family and support services.
- 42% of young adults (20-29) live with their parents. Youth in care are forced to be financially and emotionally independent at 18.
- < 1/2 of youth in care graduate from high school and they are 7x more likely to become homeless.
Health for Good: Addressing the healthcare needs of vulnerable Canadians
The most marginalized people in society often experience the greatest health problems, but have the least access to care. Increasing homelessness, chronic mental illness and substance abuse, and an underserved indigenous population fuel the problem.
TELUS is partnering with Doctors of the World (Medecins du Monde) and the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation to bring needed healthcare services to serve marginalized BC populations.
Health for Good uses Mobile Health Clinics, staffed by doctors and nurses, reaching vulnerable Canadians in need of healthcare. By using TELUS Health technologies and working closely with our partners, we can make a real difference to people’s lives in the region. Clinics will open in Vancouver and Victoria in early 2018, and expand to other critical locations over the following two years.
- Families with children are the fastest growing homeless demographic.
- 1/4 of indigenous people and people with disabilities live in poverty and struggle with inconsistent access to care
- 45% of the homeless live with a disability or mental illness
- Over the past decade hospitals visits for opioid overdoes increased by 70%. There are now > 7 opioid-related deaths every day in Canada.