Hundreds of
households in downtown Yonkers will soon have access to free or affordable
internet due to a grant from U.S. Ignite.
News 12 is told
several local organizations also received a $450,000 grant from the
organization.
Many families don’t have the means to work or learn from home, or
participate in telehealth visits
due to the digital divide.
"There are
entire portions of our community that has been marginalized in terms of not
existing on the digital rails of our current world,” says Margaret Kaufer of
STEM Alliance. “They are disproportionately low income and disproportionately
people of color.”
Westchester County Association’s Digital Connectivity Committee’s Christopher Fisher tells News 12
they hope Yonkers will serve as its model.
"Our hope
would be that with our partners, we're really going to build this as a model
and we're going to be able to go to New Rochelle, Mount Vernon,
Ossining...other communities in Westchester,” says Fisher.
Details on how to
enroll in the program and criteria for eligibility are still in discussion. It
will be a few months before families can sign up.