Grants Aim to Make Older Rhode Islanders More Tech Savvy

NBC10 reports that the Rhode Island Office of Healthy Aging has awarded $200,000 in grants to 10 organizations to help connect the state's older adults with their families, by equipping residents in areas hit hard by the pandemic with technology and training them to use it. The Pew Research Center estimated that 41 percent of Rhode Islanders 65 and older do not use broadband, and more than 25 percent are not online. "The Internet is a basic necessity today," explained Rhode Island Office of Healthy Aging Director Rosamaria Amoros Jones. "So much of how we manage our lives and connect with one another and to services is driven by technology now; yet inequities persist, with many older adults and families in lower-income neighborhoods lacking access to, or fluency in, digital tools."