Older Bronxites gathered Thursday at the PSS Davidson Center in Morrisania to celebrate National Senior Citizens Day, where a coalition of city agencies announced the expansion of a digital literacy program into older adult centers and affordable housing developments in the Bronx.
Credit: Sadie Brown
Older adults in the Bronx celebrated national Senior Citizens Day Thursday at Presbyterian Senior Services Davidson Center in Morrisania with a day of food, exercise, games, prizes and community.
A coalition of city agencies also celebrated the city’s older residents by announcing a digital literacy program designed to close the digital divide among New Yorkers, no matter their age, will expand to affordable housing developments and older adult centers in the Bronx and Northern Manhattan.
The initiative, called “Neighborhood Tech Help,” offers one-on-one support with internet use, mobile devices and computers which have become necessary to access benefits, pay bills and connect with family, friends and community.
The program is a collaboration between the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), the Department for the Aging (NYC Aging), and The New York Public Library (NYPL). Leaders said the program builds on decades of technology classes offered in libraries and brings them straight to the communities where they’re needed most.
“ When people understand how to actually navigate the digital world, they gain the power to learn, to connect and to shape their own futures, which is why digital literacy is so key to unlocking opportunities,” said Dr. Brandy McNeil, NYPL’s Deputy Director of Branch Programs and Services.
Acting HPD Commissioner Ahmed Tigani announced the expanded initiative and emphasized the importance of affordable access to technology and the skills to use it so that older adults can access things like benefits, healthcare portals, online communities, stay in touch with friends and family and enjoy the same entertainment and quality of life as New Yorkers of all ages. Credit: Sadie Brown
Wanda Sewell, an older adult at the Davidson Center, encouraged others to use the Neighborhood Tech Help program which she said is available every Monday to offer her one-on-one help.
“ The technology program from the library is a very wonderful program,” she said. “ They show me a lot with my phone, things that I couldn’t do that I’m doing now.”
Blanca Vargas, a mobile and computer tech instructor with the PSS Davidson Center, told the Bronx Times that older adults can feel pressure and anxiety when learning about technology. She said that patience is a key part of her teaching approach because oftentimes her students have said their family members or grandchildren get frustrated if they don’t learn quickly enough.
When that happens, she said she tries to offer reassurance.
“ You are afraid to make a mistake,” Vargas said she tells her students. “It’s all normal. I tell them, ‘This is all normal. This is something that’s been introduced to you and it’s being shoved in your face as well.’”
The Neighborhood Tech Help program is trying to challenge the norm. A recent report from NYC Aging found that over a third of older New Yorkers do not own a computer or tablet, and nearly one quarter said they needed help setting up and using their tech.
Acting HPD Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said that affordable access to devices and the knowledge and skills to use them is an important— if less obvious— part of HPD’s mission.
“ Housing is about more than four walls and a roof,” said Tigani. “It’s not just about a lease or a bed. It’s about stability and opportunity.”
He said that the city’s housing agency doesn’t
“ If you are gonna create housing, our job is to make sure that once someone moves in, they also have the ability to thrive and stay stable and live there for the long term,” said Commissioner Tigani. “ That means that they have the tools that they need to access services. That means that they have the tools that they need for when young children come over or family members come over, they can access the internet.”