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BOSTON - Tuesday,
July 20, 2021 - Mayor Kim Janey announced today that 19 Boston nonprofit
organizations will receive $478,900 in grants through the City of Boston’s Digital Equity Fund. The Digital Equity Fund provides support
to community-based organizations that help Boston residents digitally
participate in educational, economic and civic opportunities, which are
increasingly reliant on technology.
“Over the past 16
months, the online experience has shifted from a convenience to a necessity
in our everyday lives,” said Mayor Kim Janey. “I am proud to support 19
community organizations who are helping make digital access more equitable
across our neighborhoods. Connecting Boston residents with technology
tools, access, and training is critical to achieving our city’s
equitable recovery, reopening and renewal.”
Digital Equity Fund
awards range from $5,000 to $35,000 to support programming across a variety
of Boston neighborhoods and communities. Boston-based nonprofit
organizations serving Boston residents and neighborhoods disproportionately
impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic were prioritized in the funding,
including the neighborhoods of East Boston, Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan,
Roslindale and Hyde Park. Focus was given to organizations serving
older adults, persons with disabilities, English for speakers of other
languages (ESOL) or English Language Learner (ELL) students, residents of
public housing or rental voucher holders, and/or adult residents who have
lost employment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The digital divide
is fundamentally a social determinant of health for people with
disabilities,” shared Susan Smith, Director of Operations and Development
from the Boston Center for Independent Living. “We will be providing not
only hotspots and laptops, but adaptive technology essential to using this
technology. It is essential to break down various barriers to integration
to today’s intensely technology-driven universe.”
“For immigrants,
21st century digital skills are as important as English skills if they want
to attain economic self-sufficiency,” shared Mike Oliver, the Director of
St. Marks. “Our project will help them on this path."
"We have been
serving the community since 1775 and we are excited to expand our
services,” said Justin A. Petty, Senior Grand Warden of the MW Prince Hall
Grand Lodge. “Now, we will be able to offer online and technology training
for seniors so that they are not left behind in this post-COVID digital
world.“
The City of Boston's
Broadband and Digital Equity efforts improve access to affordable and
reliable high-speed Internet for households and businesses, expand the
availability of high-speed Internet in public places, and facilitate ease
of access to up-to-date digital tools. The Boston Equity Office joined with
the City’s Department of Innovation & Technology and the Age-Strong
Commission to support ways through the the Digital Equity Fund to build
individual and community capacity for:
·
Using
the Internet, digital skills, and digital tools to pursue professional,
educational, and civic endeavors;
·
Engaging
with the Internet safely;
·
Developing
needs-responsive, community-driven digital skills-building opportunities;
·
Increasing
broadband adoption among Bostonians who do not subscribe to this service in
the home.
The following grants were announced this
week:
Allston Brighton Community Development
Corporation:
Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation will use the funding to
offer in-person technology education courses in English and Spanish for
older Bostonians who live in the organization’s affordable rental portfolio.
The organization will additionally provide participants with a Chromebook
and other supplies after completing the course.
Boston Center for Independent Living: The Boston Center for Independent Living
will use the funding to provide 150 persons with disabilities with key
technology to facilitate their use of laptops, PCs, and tablets. Hotspots
will be provided to ensure Internet connections and adaptive equipment will
be purchased to ensure a person’s digital devices are usable by them. The
project will serve residents of Dorchester, Mid-Dorchester, Roxbury, and
Mattapan.
Boston Higher Education Resource Center: The Boston HIgher Education Resource
Center will use the funding to increase high school and college English
Language Learner (ELL) students’ access to personal computer devices as
well as provide training to these students in order for them to make the
best use of these devices towards their education and career goals. This
programming will take place at the organization’s Boston Public Schools
partner schools including English High School, East Boston High School, Jeremiah
E Burke High School, Margarita Muñiz Academy, as well as through our
Community-based (after school) program at our Roxbury/South End site.
Boston Project
Ministries: The Boston Project
Ministries will use the funding to implement a user-centered tool to help
seniors connect civically and socially through digital platforms.
Castle Square Tenants’ Organization: Castle Square Tenants’ Organization will
use the funding to build digital skills among Castle Square’s senior
residents and elder Board Members of the Castle Square Tenants Organization
(CSTO) by hosting a daily drop-in class and online chats that offer both
digital skills demos and informal Q&A sessions.
Central Boston Elder Services: Central Boston Elder Services will use the
funding to support low-income, elderly Roxbury residents by providing
tablets, training, ongoing end-user support, and internet access.
Participants will learn how to access the internet, set up email accounts,
and how to participate in virtual meetings to help reduce isolation and
learn about programs and community resources.
Center for Community Health Education Research
and Service:
The Center for Community Health Education Research and Service will use the
funding to improve older African American/Black and Latinx (AA/BL) adults self-management
of diabetes by increasing their self-efficacy in using technology. The
proposal seeks to engage high school students (juniors and seniors) in
training to become certified nursing assistants (CNAs) to help elders
living independently to self-manage their diabetes.
Codman Square Neighborhood Development
Corporation (CSNDC): The Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation will
use the funding to expand existing workforce training programs (e.g. the
Green Infrastructure certification program) in Dorchester and expand Codman
Square’s ability to offer hybrid training opportunities.
East Boston Community Council: The East Boston Community Council will use
the funding to support English Language Learning (ELL) students and their
families by providing internet services at home and internet training,
along with tablets for students in need.
Ethos: Ethos will use the funding to address the challenges of
social isolation among seniors in Boston, both during and beyond COVID-19,
through innovation in information delivery and improved technology access.
Found in Translation: Found in Translation will use the funding
to support students and alumni in Dorchester’s Found in Translation program
by providing the equipment and technology literacy training necessary to
partake in a medical interpreting certificate training course and in the
interpreting profession more generally.
Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center, Inc.: Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center
will use the funding to facilitate telehealth access in Dorchester,
Mattapan, and Roxbury by providing the equipment and training residents
need to engage. The project seeks to provide cell phones and entry-level
laptops for participants alongside technology training and a mobile
application to overcome language, cultural, and age-related barriers.
Mothers for Justice and Equality, Inc.: Mothers for Justice and Equality, Inc.
will use the funding to provide 200 chromebooks and monthly unlimited Wi-Fi
access cards to residents of Roxbury, Mattapan, and Dorchester. The project
focuses on a job readiness program and seeks to help participants take
online training courses, apply for jobs and housing assistance online,
obtain records to support citizenship, and related tasks.
Neighborhood of Affordable Housing: Neighborhood of Affordable Housing
will use the funding to support families in the East Boston community
currently living within subsidized units. The project will distribute
technology equipment and internet access while creating spaces at the
Neighborhood of Affordable Housing to facilitate virtual interactions with
residents and program participants.
Prince Hall: Prince Hall will use the funding to
implement an innovative training program designed to close the digital
divide for seniors by teaching them how to effectively and efficiently
utilize technology in their daily lives. The program will provide 15 hours
of instruction to all participants focusing on such topics as operating a
computer, connecting to the Internet, finding needed information, and using
email word-processing and virtual meetings.Those who successfully complete
the program will receive a Chromebook and will be assisted in getting
Internet access in their homes.
St. Mark Community Education Program: St. Mark Community Education Program will
use the funding to recruit and train 20 multilingual volunteers to offer at
least 30 free digital skills courses in different languages to workers who
are either unemployed or underemployed. The courses will be offered online
and in the Boston Public Library’s neighborhood branches once they
reopen.
Victory Programs: Victory Programs will use the funding to
enhance an existing mobile prevention team to connect clients to services
they need (e.g. health support, substance abuse) and provide other skills
training (e.g. resume development), as well as provide internet access for
members of the Boston Living Center when they are at the program.
X-Cel Education: X-Cel Education will use the funding to
provide basic to intermediate computer skill training for older adults.
Zumix: Zumix will use the funding to connect Boston’s youth with
media training. Through sequential program offerings, Zumix will help youth
deepen their computer and digital storytelling skills, engage in paid
production opportunities, and explore future careers in the film industry.
This announcement
builds on the City of Boston’s continued efforts to expand digital access
to Bostonians. Previously, Boston launched initiatives for WiFi hotspots as
part of the Boston Public Library's lending program, the Wicked Free WiFi program, and protections for Net Neutrality
rules.
Grant recipients in
previous years include Castle Square Tenants Organization, La Alianza
Hispana, Mujeres Unidas Avanzando, and South End Technology Center @ Tent
City. Projects funded to date have focused on technology audiovisual
training for high school students; digital literacy courses covering basic
to intermediate computer skills; how to use social media; digital
applications for health, online banking, and protecting oneself and family
online; and creative engagement in technology and engineering for youth and
adults, including those who are formerly incarcerated.
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