Stepping into a virtual reality has improved health and happiness in the community
Wigan Council’s digital teams have given its borough access to virtual reality (VR). Local news publication Wigan Today asserted that VR has been ‘boosting health and happiness’ in the UK town located northwest of Manchester.
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The headsets provide a number of services from a virtual kitchen to help users plan and cook healthy meals to creating VR versions of favourite holiday destinations.
Councillor Nazia Rehman, Cabinet Member for Resources, Finance and Transformation, supported the initiative: “There are so many additional resources the digital world can offer, and it is a priority for us to introduce them to our communities in a welcoming, educational and fun environment.
“Our Digital Wigan team are on hand to help anyone overcome any worries or barriers they might have to accessing the technology and to help people discover that having a go at VR can not only be enjoyable, but can offer lots of social benefits, such as building confidence and introducing new skills.”
VR in the Community
Wigan Council is not the first to tap into the power of VR as a tool to improve the lives and wellbeing of the local community.
VR is being used by the West Midlands Violence Reduction Partnership in schools and communities to help tack violence, according to a press release by the west midlands police and crime commissioner in December last year.
Earlier this month, the information hub for social workers Community Care revealed that virtual reality was now being leveraged to train social workers.
Developed by the University of Birmingham, these VR experiences are part of the research-informed virtual relationship-based practice training (RIVRT) package.
In the corporate world, Lenovo also chose to partner with immersive healthcare solutions provider Rendever to distribute its VR elderly patient solution to individuals at the Carolina Caring facility.
The partnership scales the distribution of Rendever’s immersive elderly care solution that provides patients with VR experiences to improve their quality of life.
There is evidently a growing market for VR technologies that can simultaneously benefit local communities, councils, support groups, VR solution providers, and more.
This latest VR programme in Wigan appears to have been a success so far, with community members Betty, 92, and Carys, 77, offering feedback on their experiences of the technology.
Betty commented on her time virtually revisiting an old favourite, Loughrigg: “It was lovely, it’s taken me back 20 years. I couldn’t have done this sort of thing when I was young and I really, really enjoyed it.
“Who would have thought I’d go up Loughrigg again at 92? I just wanted to stay there.”
Meanwhile, Carys, wanted to recreate a favourite memory she shared with her husband, David, who has dementia. She said: “My husband and I both had a go. I requested if we could see a lake in the village where we both grew up.
“We’ve not been able to go back there for a number of years. It was amazing. It brought back so many lovely memories.”
All residents are invited to take part in the next two VR sessions at Higher Folds Community Centre in Leigh, Wigan on August 19th and September 2nd.
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