Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 40, Number 7, 1 July 2023 — ACP Finally Reaches Kūpuna on Hawaiian Homelands [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ACP Finally Reaches Kūpuna on Hawaiian Homelands

In collaboration with Digital Equity Hawai'i (DEH), on lune 20, 2023, the OHA Hila Office hosted o sign-up event to get beneficiories connected with discounted internet service. This was a pilot that helped DEH identify obstacles to program utilizotion. DEH plans to roll out the program to other islands. - Photos: Ron Koelani ByRonKodaniandBurt Lum As the past three years of the pandemic have made clear, the importance of digital connectivity is a human right and here to stay. Reliable internet is essential for work, education, health care, news and information, maintaining social connections, and access to government services and programs. It provides telehealth to kūpuna and veterans, plugs the homework gap by enabling children to learn at home, and creates immediate and long-lasting eeonomie benefits. A benefit like the LCC's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) helps to make internet subscriptions reachable by Hawai'i residents who have been left out of the program due to a laek of understanding about the program, the process, or even how to get information regarding this federal benefit. It has been available in the State of Hawai'i since 2020, however, outreach with information about the ACP program has not been effective in reaching this audience. That is why the Broadband Hui had its first community outreach on the island of Hawai'i on June 20 at the Hilo ofRce of the OfRce of Hawaiian Affairs. With the support of Trustee Mililani Trask and her staff, we had a wonderful first ever community outreach in East Hawai'i, primarily with kūpuna. It was a challenging but fruitful event and many of the participants were able to register and secure a voucher for either the $30 or $75 credit for Homestead residents. There were a few "glitches" along the way, but Digital Equity Coordinator Amber Ternus was able to navigate through the obstacles encountered in the sign-on process. Ternus also brought two volunteer assistants with her whieh made the processing faster. Sometimes, it took just 15 minutes to complete the process, while other times it took more than two hours. While the documentation requirements of the internet providers and the LCC Benefit Program posed some challenges, Ternus' determination and tenacity made it possible for many of those who applied to reach their goal of securing the voucher. We hope to repeat this outreach in Hilo again soon, as well as to conduct community outreach efforts on all the islands so that the ACP program ean connect more Hawai'i households to the internet. Lor more information go to https://broadband. hawaii.gov/acp/ ■