When 96-year-old Irene needed an electronic tablet for telehealth visits, the Phoenix Housing Department provided it for free. However, many seniors in particular struggle not just with access to devices and internet connection, but how to use them.
Phoenix Housing staff can now assist with that as well.
Housing Manager Courtney Anderson told a city council subcommittee on Tuesday that when Housing staff asked Irene what she might want to do with her new device, she said she wanted to watch her favorite pastor’s sermons.
“We showed her how to search on YouTube, and when she found him, her face lit up,” Anderson recounted during the Community Services and Education Subcommittee meeting on Tuesday. “That joy motivated her to keep learning, and soon she was using her tablet for Zoom telehealth appointments, which brought peace of mind to her family.”
Irene, 96, told Phoenix Housing Department staff one thing she wanted to use her new LG tablet for was to watch her favorite pastor’s sermons.
(Courtesy city of Phoenix)
That story is representative of the latest digital initiative from the Phoenix Housing Department: two digital access centers in downtown known as The Hives.
Both centers offer digital literacy training for both children and adults. The one at the Aeroterra Community Center, which opened in December 2023 at 17th and McKinley streets, has gravitated toward children, which make up about 73% of the center’s users. The other at Emmett McLoughlin Community Training and Education Center, which opened in March 2024 at Seventh Avenue and Buckeye Road, operates more as a digital support hub for adults and seniors, accounting for about 85% of visits.
Phoenix also plans to soon launch a digital literacy program aimed specifically toward seniors.
The Hives are in partnership with the local nonprofit Institute for Digital Inclusion Acceleration, or IDIA.
In recent years, the Housing Department’s PHXHousing Connect Program, along with partners like Cox and T-Mobile, has provided thousands of residents in public or affordable housing communities with electronic devices and with free internet connection.
However, Deputy Housing Director Angela Duncan said the program is based on three fundamental components – affordable internet, accessible devices and digital skills training. She said true success of program requires all three.
“The Hives were the missing puzzle piece to our PHXHousing Connect Program, providing on-site dedicated space for digital learning,” Duncan said.
Duncan highlighted some of the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic as bringing to the fore how necessary digital access is in the 21st century. She recounted stories of parents driving to fast food parking lots to connect to free Wi-Fi so their children could turn in homework assignments and a family with nine children sharing one cell phone to turn in assignments.
Aside from school, digital access is also a necessity for many jobs and for accessing many essential services.
“Digital access is no longer optional. It is the foundation for opportunity and participation in today’s world,” Duncan said.
Duncan sited a recent survey that showed that 44% families reported improved grades after getting access to home internet.
Housing staff also told the story of Beatriz Rivera, who now works as a navigator at The Hives. She grew up with limited access to technology. She went to college to pursue her dream of becoming an interior designer, but access to technology was necessary. She had to teach herself how to use the software, and those technological skills opened up opportunities for her.
Now graduated from Arizona State University, Rivera is helping others at The Hives. She says it is something she wishes was available when she was growing up and particularly in college.
“This is a space that is not only available for people who are maybe not familiar with technology, but it’s also available to community,” Rivera said in a pre-recorded video. “So if you want to see a friend and you want to create a 3D print together, you’re more than welcome to come and hang out with us and create a connection.”
The city’s Housing Department has distributed more than 3,300 devices, including iPads, Chromebooks, and LG tablets to Phoenix residents living in the public and affordable housing communities. The department has also provided 3,746 units in public or affordable housing communities across 33 affordable and senior housing with free-to-tenant high-speed internet.
By the end of the year, the city plans to connect at least 580 more units to high-speed internet. The department also plans to distribute more electronic devices, put out a survey about their program and launch a senior-focused digital literacy program.
Councilmember Debra Stark called it “quite an impressive program,” saying that her father is 90 and grew up in an era before computers.
Chair Kesha Hodge Washington agreed with staff that online access is no longer a luxury but a necessity.
“I really believe that ensuring our residents have access to reliable internet and digital devices is critical — not just for staying connected, but for, as we’ve seen, education, employment and for accessing essential city services and helping them move toward self-sufficiency,” Hodge Washington said.
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Mark Carlisle
Associate Editor | Phoenix
Meet Mark
Mark Carlisle joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2017, covering Glendale. He has since moved to the Daily Independent team, primarily covering the city of Phoenix along with other topics affecting the Valley at-large.
Community: Mark enjoys taking his young son to BabyTime at the Phoenix Public Library, to the OdySea Aquarium and to various sporting events around the Valley.
Education: Chapman University with a BA in English Journalism and one in Screenwriting.
Random Fact: Mark worked at a tuxedo shop in college. Just don’t ask him to tie a bowtie.
Hobbies: Spending time with his wife, son and dog, watching sports and TV shows, listening to audiobooks and occasionally writing fiction or designing a board game.