This newsletter contains information on:

• Partner Grants
• Website Revamp
• Experience Paper: Programs
• Lessons from ODLAN

Partner Grants

PBDD thanks all of our partners for participation in our speedy grant process.

Congratulations  to IBSA, RSVP, Computers for Kids, and Learning to Be the Light for receiving $100 grants for their winning responses to our one-minute survey.

Congratulations to Computers for Kids, Ontario Digital Learning and Access Network, and People’s Resource Center for receiving $500 in support of their program services:

• C2K: Technology Assistance Program
• PRC: Computer Literacy and Access Program
• ODLAN: Webinars Program

Website Revamp

We have reorganized the menus on our website to make it easier to find information you can use. The new top-level headings are:

• General
• Partners
• Planning
• Services
• Communication
• Extra Resources

The “legs of the stool” for digital inclusion are under Services- Broadband, Equipment, Support, and Training.

We welcome your feedback and suggestions for further improvement.

Experience Paper: Programs

Based on our initial partner survey and the need for funding for existing programs, we think it would be useful to develop an experience paper focused on the successful programs of our partners. We would appreciate it if you could take a few minutes and answer the following questions. Feel free to answer the questions for multiple programs offered by your agency:

• For a currently active program, how did it get started?
• What’s been learned from the time you started it to now?
• Can you share a story about the people served by your program? (It can be the story of one person, or a subset. Often a specific story is more inspiring than a general one. Feel free to change names or details to avoid identifying a specific real person.)
• What impact has this program had on the community and your goals or mission?
• What are the challenges?

Lessons from ODLAN

Ontario Digital Learning and Access Network (ODLAN) is a PBDD partner agency that works in the intersection between digital inclusion and the 2SLGBTQ+ (Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, plus others) community. We have been working with ODLAN recently to learn about how the needs of  that community differ, and what our partners can do to eliminate barrier and increase access for everyone.

What resources do you provide that may be useful to our partners?

ODLAN offers a searchable resource database of basic and free/low-cost digital literacy services, tech support, and hardware; infographics and videos that introduce our research findings and best practices for 2SLGBTQ+ inclusive digital literacy; and our network partnership program where we connect digital literacy and 2SLGBTQ+ organizations. Our newsletter is distributed quarterly to keep our network informed. We offer consulting services to organizations to work with them in building digital strategies that will improve how they navigate digital divide challenges.

What are the unique needs of the 2SLGBTQ+ community with regard to digital inclusion programs?

Many 2SLGBTQ+ people have had prior experiences with discrimination when accessing education or support services and may not feel comfortable approaching a new/unknown organization for help. Users do not want to constantly educate or correct service providers about their gender/sexual identity and may fear doing so if they believe the person they are correcting will react in a hostile manner.

For older adults, many organizations assume that a client will have a caregiver, children, or other family who can support them with accessing online services or navigating new devices like iPad. Many 2SLGBTQ+ people do not have children, spouses, or supportive families. Many rely on friends and other chosen-family networks for community and support.

Many 2SLGBTQ+ people do not live in physical environments where it is safe to be out and have a higher need for privacy when using the internet. Some 2SLGBTQ+ users may not want to use the name that appears on their legal documents and may want to use a different name either because they are transitioning or feel safer using a different name to protect their privacy.

Many of the issues that 2SLGBTQ+ faces intersect with the needs of other marginalized communities. For example, 2SLGBTQ+ people, particularly older adults, often experience higher rates of poverty and isolation than their cisgender and heterosexual peers. If programs or events require long-distance travel, subscription services, or personal devices, these may be financially out of reach for many members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Additionally, accessibility services like ASL or closed-captioning services are not always familiar with 2SLGBTQ+ community-related terms like “transgender,” “cisgender,” “pansexual,” etc.

How can our partners develop policies that welcome all members of the community to participate?

You and your partners can develop welcoming policies and programs in a few different ways. You can include 2SLGBTQ+ communities in your public-facing inclusion policies and openly partner with 2SLGBTQ+ organizations. If your community has local pride events, consider getting involved somehow.

You can always seek feedback from 2SLGBTQ+ people who access your programs to determine how to best meet their needs. If you have an in-person office, you can ask for anonymous feedback on your events or policies using an online survey or a message box. While not all individuals or organizations have the time or energy to spare to give feedback, some 2SLGBTQ+ organizations and consultants do offer auditing services to help shape your inclusivity policies.

Remember that the 2SLGBTQ+ community is incredibly diverse, and different people might exist within distinct 2SLGBTQ+ communities. Inclusivity for this breadth of experiences means actively working to be inclusive towards BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people of color), disabled, immigrant, and other populations in your community.

What work is needed to help reduce barriers to inclusion, and how can we help in this work?

A lot of the issues that create barriers are systemic and require political action to fund universal internet access, public education around digital literacy, and affordable housing to allow people to have the stability and privacy needed to regularly access the internet, safely store their devices, and feel secure enough to pursue further digital literacy education. While these are big goals that require large-scale action, there are still things that grassroots organizations can do to help reduce barriers for their users.

The most common barrier is financial, which may include the cost of a device, an internet service, or even transportation to a location with free tech, internet, and training. You can collaborate with other local organizations to purchase devices and lend them out to program users who do not have their own. If you want to run in-person digital literacy training workshops, consider partnering with your local library where the internet is provided, there are usually some computers available, and the space is easily accessible by public transit.

Consider collaborating with other community partners to contact your representative to highlight your area’s need for affordable internet plans or wider internet access if you are in a remote or rural location.