Community Tech Network is delighted to announce receiving a grant from Metta Fund, a private health foundation dedicated to San Francisco’s aging population and those furthest from access and opportunity. The grant provides digital literacy and tablets to older adults in San Francisco through a new program called Sunset Tech Connect.
In partnership with Community Living Campaign, Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center, and the San Francisco Public Library, Sunset Tech Connect will provide tablets and training to 48 monolingual seniors in the Sunset district of San Francisco. It will teach them to use tablets safely and to independently connect to the internet to access services and information. The tablets were donated by Sprint, and each participant who completes the program will get to keep the tablet and receive six months of service.
The program focuses on a diverse set of older adults who face chronic health conditions and regular feelings of isolation and loneliness. Digital literacy is often overlooked in elder care, even though it has great potential to open the wider world to aging individuals.
“Metta Fund is proud to partner with Community Tech Network to provide digital literacy for older adults in San Francisco,” said Metta Fund CEO Janet Y. Spears. “Our city has a rapidly growing population of older adults, many of whom experience loneliness and social isolation, a growing health epidemic nationwide. Organizations that forge access to technology for older adults enhance their quality of life by enabling them to connect with their community.”
CTN’s executive director, Kami Griffiths, says, “We are very grateful to Metta Fund for their support of this program. We have been working with seniors in San Francisco since 2010 and see how important is it for everyone to be connected at home. In 2016, Metta Fund provided seed funds for Tech Allies, a project we launched in partnership with Little Brothers — Friends of the Elderly. To date, that project has connected 85 of their elders.”
CTN is grateful to Metta Fund for their instrumental role in making the Sunset Tech Connect program a reality. Digital inclusion must be addressed by an entire community. Through partnerships like this, we can help everyone — regardless of age or income level — to achieve the access and skills needed to take advantage of the power of the internet.
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