When Magdalena Andreozzi moved workshops offered by her nonprofit online during the COVID-19 pandemic last summer, she expected some bumps in the transition.
After all, Grands Flourish Inc. helps grandparents who are raising their grandchildren, and the virtual world can be a tricky place for older people to navigate. But it was much worse than Andreozzi imagined.
The grandparents who had come to count on her organization for social support were not able to get online at all. She later learned through a phone survey that most of them didn’t have a smartphone, tablet or computer of any kind.
“Of course, they didn’t show up,” Andreozzi said of the virtual forum that drew no attendees. “They only have a flip phone.”
How is this possible in 2021? It’s not only possible, it’s common in Rhode Island, according to technology-equity advocates. What is being termed a “digital divide” between the haves and have-nots has become only more visible in the pandemic.
According to a Pew Research Center survey, more than 41% of adults age 65 and older are not using high-speed wireless internet connections and 25% do not use the internet at all.
Using state grant funds, 10 organizations in Rhode Island are now accessing technology to help bridge that gap. The program put forward by the R.I. Office of Healthy Aging will direct $200,000 to various caregiver programs, helping elderly and disabled community members and their families to access digital technology. The grants of $10,000 to $30,000 will provide devices, internet service and training on the new technology.
‘You have all of these folks who are not digital natives.’
ROSAMARIA AMOROS JONES, R.I. Office of Healthy Aging director
Grands Flourish, a West Warwick-based nonprofit, serves grandparents who often unexpectedly were placed in the role of primary caregiver to their grandchildren. Many of its grandparents are in their 60s or 70s and are raising children under age 10. The $22,000 grant it received through the state’s digiAGE program will be put toward buying tablets or laptops, as well as wireless connections, for 12 grandparents.
Each of these grandparents will be paired with a one-on-one mentor who will walk them through the steps to get online and use the technology, Andreozzi said. She recently partnered with Cyber Seniors, a program at the University of Rhode Island, and Mentor Rhode Island: The RI Mentoring Partnership Inc. to help make the program roll out smoothly.
The pandemic thrust many grandparents into an unknown world of online education and having to quickly understand technology platforms. In Rhode Island, about 13,000 children are living with their grandparents and 7,000 children do not have a primary parent in the home, she said.
“We have all of these people, who are at home, raising children, and all of a sudden they are just completely isolated,” Andreozzi said.
Rosamaria Amoros Jones, director of the Office of Healthy Aging, said technology gaps took on greater importance in 2020 when the pandemic forced many people into isolation and prevented them from interacting with extended family.
Even before the pandemic, digital inequities were being experienced most frequently by adults over 55, family caregivers and adults living with disabilities, she said. That’s about 300,000 people in Rhode Island.
People who lack access or understanding of how to use online functions, including email, social media and platforms such as Zoom, are in all communities in Rhode Island, rural and urban.
“You have all of these folks who are not digital natives. They were not raised in the tech era and so, therefore, are being left behind,” Jones said.
The COVID-19 response, including testing and vaccinations, has also had a heavy tech focus. “Vaccination scheduling is one of the most recent examples of a system that is tech-enabled,” Jones said.
In addition to Grands Flourish, the digiAGE program awarded grants to nonprofits, including $20,576 to Carelink Inc. in East Providence to support caregivers of adult day health center participants; $17,000 to Cornerstone Adult Services Inc. in Warwick to partner with colleges to educate caregivers on remote teaching and learning; $10,000 to Center for Southeast Asians in Providence to help the elderly connect with family and friends and combat social isolation; and $16,750 to the town of Cumberland to support digital literacy and connect older residents to health information.
The largest recipient was the YMCA of Greater Providence, which received $27,679 to assist older residents in neighborhoods hard-hit by the pandemic, to help them access digital tools and training.
The digiAGE program goes well beyond just the technology, according to Jones. If someone is handed a device, they may not know how to use it effectively, or how to access culturally relevant programs.
“It can’t just be about the devices,” she said.
It started with a project launched in April 2020, Project Hello, that was an effort to connect volunteers to homebound residents.
“We understood the threat of social isolation,” Jones said. “How could we launch an initiative that would get people devices that were user-centric – meaning appropriate for that individual and feature-rich. So, if it was an iPad, it would have apps. And then train the person to use that service and pay for the internet.”
To help finance the initiative, the state office partnered with private entities. The grants that were awarded came from a larger $600,000 program that includes money from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, as well as contributions from organizations and companies such as Verizon Communications Inc., Tech Collective, Cox Communications Inc. and Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, Jones said.
Mary MacDonald is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Macdonald@PBN.com.
