Program delivers tech
Older adults and students benefit from CARES funds
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated technological inequities in Boulder, particularly among older adults, but the city hopes its new Bridging the Digital Divide program will help knock down those barriers and improve access for older adults and schoolchildren.
Boulder is funding the program with $100,000 in federal funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. Through the program, which is a partnership between Boulder Public Library and the Housing and Human Services Department, adults age 55 and older and school-age children can receive a free Chromebook or ipad and hotspot. The devices are theirs to keep, while the hotspots are paid for through the rest of 2020. People are responsible for the hotspot data costs after that.
According to Aimee Schumm, eservices manager with Boulder Public Library, hotspots already had been available for students, but the city saw a need to provide assistance to older adults, too.
“To be able to expand this to older adults has been super-important for us because it’s a huge part of our community, and we want to make sure they’re taken care of right now and
not feeling isolated,” Schumm said.
Considering older adults can be more vulnerable to the coronavirus, they’re more likely to experience social isolation, which Eden Bailey, Boulder’s older adult services manager, called a public health threat.
“There are health effects that are connected to social isolation and so with many programs going on online, we really want to make sure that any older adult that wants to connect digitally has that opportunity,” she said.
Julie Causa, spokesperson with Boulder, noted older adults often are most likely to participate in and find connection through live programs hosted by the city. Providing devices allows people to maintain a sense of connection while everything is happening virtually.
Boulder is working with local nonprofits to assist in setting up the devices and ongoing technical support.
Moving forward, Boulder hopes to continue the program. The $100,000 grant can be used through the end of 2020, so the city is working to find another solution that will allow it to do so.
“The irony about this is we had planned to develop a program this year around this very thing — bridging the digital divide — and then COVID hit and everything got scattered,” Bailey said. “We will continue to try and find a solution to continue this kind of program. We are very committed to equity in terms of the digital divide in our community.”
Devices are available for pick up at Boulder’s Main Library, 1001 Arapahoe Ave., from 9:15 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday and from 12:15 to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 23 and 24. However, these dates won’t be the only time to pick up a device, and Boulder is finding ways to deliver devices to homebound seniors.
Interested residents who are 55 or older can call 303441-4388 for more information. Families with schoolage children can call 303218-8562.