New Program Provides Technology to Older Adults, Students

The city of Boulder, Colo., hopes its new Bridging the Digital Divide program will help improve technological access for older adults and schoolchildren, which has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, reports the Daily Camera . The program is being funded with $100,000 in federal funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. The Boulder Public Library and the Housing and Human Services Department will offer the program to adults 55 and older and school-age children, giving them free Chromebooks or iPads, and hotspots. The costs of the hotspots are paid for through the rest of the year, after which participants must cover them. "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," said Boulder Public Library's Aimee Schumm. Seniors are more likely to be socially isolated given their vulnerability to the virus, "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," said Eden Bailey, Boulder's older adult services manager. Boulder spokesperson Julie Causa added that older adults often are most likely to participate in and find connection via live programs hosted by the city. Providing devices enables people to maintain a sense of connection while everything occurs virtually.