Nonprofit wants to reduce Milwaukee’s digital divide
Bertha Nance, 60, has been in Milwaukee for almost 40 years.
But the first time she used a computer was 15 years ago when she helped her grandson with homework and even then, she struggled to use it.
“I was intimidated by computers,” she said. “I don’t really like technology.”
Last week, she and 20 other students at the YWCA’s high school equivalency diploma class, received computers, thanks to the nonprofit organization Digital Bridge.
In her youth, Nance dropped out of school in 11th grade to start a family. Eventually she worked as a nursing assistant and is now a personal care worker.
But Nance said she realized technology will be an important part of her education at the Y.
“The world we are in now, I really need to have this (understanding of technology). If I don’t, I’m gonna be left behind — technology is my future, too.”
Now Digital Bridge will be able to expand its Bridge Milwaukee initiative, which provides computer skills classes to underserved Milwaukee residents, with a $25,000 Digital Education Grant from Spectrum.
Nearly a year ago, Digital Bridge, which began as an organization selling refurbished desktop and laptop computers to underserved Milwaukee residents, started the pilot with a Digital Bridge a Digital Education Grant from
Spectrum for $32,500.
They partnered with other nonprofits to offer computer skills classes along with actual computers.
Since then, Hanson said they have reached 170 Milwaukee residents and want to reach as many as 200 this year.
The digital divide
Programs like Digital Bridge help reduce the Milwaukee area’s digital divide.
The digital divide describes the difference between those who have access to computers, smart phones and other technology, as well as internet access, and those who do not.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 20% of people across the state lacked broadband access in 2017. Other data showed that households in the city of Milwaukee from 2014 to 2018 tended to have less access to broadband internet (72.1%) than the rest of the state (80.4%).
Experts have noted that a lack of access to such technology can affect individuals and families in a variety of ways: education, employment, social connectivity and community efficacy.
James Prieger, a professor at Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy has been studying broadband access for 20 years.
He said the digital divide has deepened as society has become increasingly technologically dependent.
“So many things have migrated over the years, from applying to jobs or finishing high school and getting your college degree.” he said. “There’s this whole issue of the homework gap; just the notion that many teachers nowadays will assign homework and projects which assume kids have access to internet. When that is not the case, that can be a problem for the children.”
He said “digital inclusion” — the opposite of the digital divide — involves four areas: availability of broadband, affordability of broadband, access to complimentary equipment such as computers and digital literacy.
He said resolutions for these issues are difficult to measure but separating them by area can make it more manageable.
In urban areas such as Milwaukee, for example, Prieger noted that broadband is generally available and there are cost-reducing options, such as the government program Lifeline, which offer low-income families broadband at a reduced price.
However, he said equipment and digital literacy are the more pressing issues, especially where there are concentrations of low-income families.
“It’s an important qualitative issue, but it’s hard to qualify. I think local solutions are probably the most promising.”
Digital Bridge and digital inclusion in Milwaukee
Digital Bridge was founded by Jeff Hanson in 2009 after he spent time building a computer lab in a Kenyan village during his sophomore year at Milwaukee School of Engineering. When he returned to Milwaukee, he was determined to do the same in his own backyard.
Hanson, a computer rebuilder and Microsoft Registered Refurbisher, works with five employees and several volunteers to bring technology to residents of Milwaukee, but also to teach them how to use it.
“You can give the tool, but if people don’t know how to use it it’s useless.” he said.
After he founded Digital Bridge, he began reaching out to community organizations such as City on a Hill, Riverwest Food Pantry, Riverworks Center and YWCA to identify those in need of technology and provide them with computer skills classes, information on lowcost broadband options and computers.
At the YWCA, they have a weekly shop every Tuesday where people can come buy a computer at a low rate and get training and assistance in using it.
Digital Bridge receives grants and relies on desktop and laptop computer donations from businesses; they sell an average of 1,000 refurbished computers every year.
Hanson said the funds from Spectrum will be used to continue providing computers and expand the digital literacy program.
“Technology is a necessity not a luxury,” he said. “Technology is necessary to apply for jobs, to do school, it’s much harder to function without it.”
Interested in Digital Bridge? Reach out to them via digitalbridge.ngo/contact.
Have questions about this story? Contact Talis Shelbourne at (414) 2235261 or tshelbourn@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @talisseer and Facebook at @talisseer.