COMMUNITY CONVERSATION: “We owe it to our community members to pursue equity”

The discussion was co-hosted by Community Impact Editor Nick Hrkman and Dayton Daily News Reporter London Bishop and featured panelists from around our region to help answer your questions about digital literacy, digital equity and more. Panelists included:

You can watch the full discussion on our website and the Dayton Daily News Facebook Page, or read highlights below.

Editor’s Note: This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.

FABRICE JUIN: The National Digital Inclusion Alliance defines digital equity as a condition in which all individuals and communities have the information technology capacity needed for full participation in our society. Does the built environment have the infrastructure to allow for internet connection and do community members have the skills to take advantage of it? The reality is that access has to be paired with capacity to actually advance equity. Through the Institute for Livable Equitable Communities at MVRPC, we define equity as a condition of parity that is achieved by being intentional about improving quality of life for populations that are underserved, under-resourced and vulnerable. So it really forces us to think of the most in-need first, because those are the members of our community most impacted by barriers. Those are the members of our community that sometimes aren’t even at the starting line, but are almost in the negative. So a lot of what we’ve been trying to emphasize is the necessity of prioritizing access to both internet connection and devices, but also affordability. We can address all connectivity gaps in this entire region and state but still have families and households deciding between paying gas or grocery bills versus maintaining an internet connection. And we owe it to our community members to pursue equity all the way and not leave any stone unturned in addressing all the inequities we know that exist.

TERRY VANDEBERG: The populations that St. Mary’s Development Corp. primarily service are low-income minorities. We are in federal subsidized housing and the access for those individuals is crucial for how they access their health care, how they access their finances, how they access not being socially isolated. Having internet access is no longer a luxury. It’s a necessity not just for who we service, but for American economy as a whole. When you look at how we access the internet, you and I might take those things for granted. I can pick up my smartphone, I can access my checking account, I can access my medical records, I can access the labs I had yesterday, I have the tools and the financial ability to do that. When you look at the population as a whole, where those individuals lie within what is considered historically redlined areas, you see that these luxuries don’t exist. How well off would I be if I did not have access to my health care, if I could not access the news, if I didn’t have the ability to know when there was torrential weather coming, or that I needed to get access to social security, find the ability to utilize utility assistance program? Without those things, you will see a decline in their health because internet access is a social determinant of health. If you do have the financial means to afford internet, do you have the financial means to afford the devices? And then what are you going to give up? Because if you do have the device, for the people that we service, it’s probably because they’ve already utilized a federal assistance program to obtain that device and they no longer qualify for service.

KATIE MEYER: We deployed public Wi-Fi within five of Greater Dayton Premier Management’s public housing communities. In that project, we also provided a Chromebook and worked with the residents to make sure they understood how to connect to the Wi-Fi, login to their Chromebook, which oftentimes there is a barrier of not having an email address or even creating an email address and needing to be able to text verify that and not having a phone. When you are hands-on, you start to understand the many barriers that people have to adoption of the technology. Specifically, I remember working in senior housing, the importance for many of those residents to be able to order their groceries online, being high-risk populations, transportation, access all of these other components. Nobody was ordering their groceries and having them delivered pre-pandemic, but we can we can look at how digitized our lives have become, our public benefits or banking and all of that. As a point of reference, I think telehealth is a huge one. I read a statistic from the American Hospital Association that it’s leveled out post-pandemic at 38 times the utilization of telehealth as pre-pandemic. So it’s really changed the ways that we provide healthcare to communities in need and I don’t think that can be under-appreciated.

JOSHUA ASHWORTH: At the libraries, we have high-speed internet available in all of our 17 locations across Montgomery County. Each facility has library computers that you can use. We also have free Wi-Fi and comfortable seating. You can check out a laptop or a tablet, or bring your own device. We also have a set of iPads that we take to partner organizations. So if you can’t make it to one of our facilities because you’re in an assisted living environment or have mobility issues, we can come to you with some of those technologies. We also partner with a couple of organizations to check out mobile hotspots. Our libraries want to be a good community partner as libraries and that means promoting solutions that you may not know about. So more recently tried to make sure that library patrons are aware of the Affordable Connectivity Program and other avenues for them to get to get access. Those folks that come in and don’t have internet at home. What are the options available? We also have computer training programs, classes that you can sign up for starting with basics and going beyond. We have a series of programs called “Technology At Your Own Pace” that you can bring in your own device or ask any questions of our technology experts. We also teach safe practices online. With the move to digital, those problems around disinformation are only going to get worse.

MARY BUTTS: The Connectivity Champions originally started as a call center. We would field calls, we would directly with schools and districts on ensuring that all families were connected to the internet. A lot of the schools right now are really focused on learning loss, they’re more focused on some of the internal challenges. They’re looking to us to help provide these families with other ways to access the internet. But there’s still an issue with students going home with Chromebooks that are not usable because they don’t have internet access at home. When we first started, a lot of the calls that we were fielding were based on affordability. We’re outreach partners that get families as connected as we can, but we’re learning that some families don’t know how to use the internet. They don’t have email addresses. So not only helping with funding, we’re also helping with finding devices for them. How can we help them with basic digital skills?