NEWS

MHAC and AgeSpan Expand Digital Equity Efforts As Part of Announcement of $19 Million from MBI

Jan 29, 2025

This week, the Healey-Driscoll administration and the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech) announced $19 million in grants to support participants of the Digital Equity Partnerships Program.

AgeSpan and the Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative co-lead a project under that program with several Aging Service Access Points (Coastline Elderly Services, SeniorCare Inc., Mystic Valley Elder Services, Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services, Old Colony Elder Services and Elder Services of Worcester Area), Little Brothers-Friends of the Elderly, and Mass. Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

The additional grant of $333,664 will support these partners in deepening digital equity work in 74 cities and towns, targeting older adults for digital literacy and navigation services. The project partners anticipate serving an additional 600 older adults and distributing 150 additional devices to complement digital literacy programming. The original grant to these organizations was $3 million.

Outside of this project, the funds will support other active digital equity projects focused on delivering training, resources and broadband infrastructure to Massachusetts residents. These projects will distribute upwards of 500 devices, expand the Apartment Wi-Fi program by 4,000 units, and increase digital access for nearly 20,000 residents across the state.

The Digital Equity Partnerships Program, created in September 2022, helps qualified organizations execute projects aligned with the objectives set forth in the Commonwealth’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) COVID recovery legislation (Chapter 102 of the Acts of 2021). The program is made up of six initiative areas: connectivity for economic hardship (providing ‘hot spots’ to low-income/housing insecure individuals), device distribution and refurbishment, digital literacy, education, outreach, and adoption support, public space internet modernization, and Wi-Fi access.

The additional funding will enable partners to expand their services to reach more underserved communities, such as recent immigrants and individuals living in rural areas.