From WTAM Radio Cleveland:
A public-private partnership aimed at bringing digital equity to Cleveland has reached a significant milestone ahead of schedule: Connecting 1,000 households and approximately 2,200 Cleveland residents to low-cost, reliable broadband in MetroHealth’s footprint.
The four partners – MetroHealth, DigitalC, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, and Dollar Bank – will celebrate this accomplishment at an event Wednesday, December 14, at CMHA’s Scranton Castle senior apartment complex, one of the buildings connected under this partnership. In addition to low-cost internet access, this “Digital Connectivity Initiative” also provided residents with digital skills training to navigate the digital landscape.
“We have reached this milestone ahead of the goal we set for ourselves. We are grateful for our partners, DigitalC, CMHA and Dollar Bank, who have joined MetroHealth’s Institute for H.O.P.E.TM in this effort,” said Susan Fuehrer, President of Institute for H.O.P.E.TM “We live in a time when technology creates opportunity and makes more possible. Now we must ensure that those opportunities and possibilities are open to everyone.”
Launched in response to a 2019 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census that identified Cleveland as the worst-connected big city in the nation, the initiative set out to connect 1,000 households in neighborhoods directly served by MetroHealth by 2024. The health system recognized that internet connectivity is necessary for essential functions like communicating with health care providers, connecting with social support services, and completing job applications and put the initiative under its then-newly formed Institute for H.O.P.E.TM.
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“The significance of this milestone cannot be overstated: It represents the youth, adults and senior citizen residents of CMHA that now can become more connected and engaged members of our community by having greater accessibility to technology,” said Jeffery K. Patterson, Chief Executive Office of CMHA.
Read WTAM Cleveland Radio's article "MetroHealth, DigitalC, CMHA and Dollar Bank Address the Digital Divide."