About BTG
WHO WE ARE AND WHERE WE’VE COME FROM
How we started…
Bridge the Gap Ending Digital Poverty CIC, located in Hackney, emerged during the 2020 lockdown to address the digital and social divide. we empower families and the wider community by providing technology equipment, digital skills, and Data SIM cards. Our Digital Community Hub Project facilitates change and inspires others to be pro-active. Our mission is to equip local families and individuals with the tools to transform their futures through education, internet access, and technology, fostering empowerment and community-driven change.
Our Journey
Bridge the Gap was born from lived experience.
In March 2020, just one day before the national lockdown, our Founder Melissa moved into a new home with her two children, both with additional needs. As a disabled and neurodivergent parent, she quickly faced overwhelming challenges accessing the digital tools her family relied on for schooling, support and daily life.
With no working devices and no digital support available, Melissa found herself experiencing the very digital poverty thousands of families were silently living through. Using £100 from her child tax credit, she purchased refurbished devices for two local families who were struggling even more than she was. That simple act of compassion revealed the scale of need in her community.
Parents began reaching out through WhatsApp groups, schools and neighbours. Story after story echoed the same theme: “We cannot access learning. We cannot access services. We need help.”
What began as one mother trying to survive lockdown with her children became a growing grassroots movement built on lived experience, community solidarity and determination. With support from local contacts and volunteers, Melissa formalised the work into Bridge the Gap, a community organisation dedicated to ensuring no family or resident is left behind in the digital age.
Today, BTG continues to be shaped by the values that started it: compassion, patience, inclusion, lived-experience leadership and the belief that communities thrive when they are supported to connect, learn and empower one another..
Over time, the increasing demand for online access and support prompted an expansion of services to a wider community, addressing the needs of various groups including the elderly, the youth, and those with mental health issues. Despite limitations, Melissa's dedication to alleviating digital poverty continued, culminating in the rebranding of the initiative to "Bridge the Gap Ending Digital Poverty CIC" in 2023, reflecting a commitment to bridging the digital divide for a broader spectrum of the community.
Mission & Goals
We empower digitally excluded people including low-income families, neurodivergent individuals and older residents by providing devices, connectivity and one-to-one support that builds confidence, independence and opportunity.
• Remove barriers to digital access
• Provide inclusive, patient one-to-one support
• Build confidence and digital skills in the community
• Empower residents through lived-experience leadership
• Ensure no one is left behind in the digital age