Get Connected California is committed to bridging the digital divide

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People lined up Saturday morning outside the Cesar Chavez Library in Salinas hoping to qualify for free or reduced-cost high-speed Internet access. The library is just one place in the state that is signing people up for the Get Connected program this weekend. “This is a real opportunity for people who don’t have services or services are too expensive for them and they don’t know where to go,” said Karen Smith from the Monterey County Health Department. The Get Connected initiative is a government program that was created to help educate people about how they can access affordable, and sometimes free, Internet access. On Saturday, the county administered a program that helps people who qualify get rebates of up to $30 a month. One of those in line at Ceasar Chavez on Saturday was Estella Lopez. Mother Salinas says her previous Internet access cost $10 a month, but it was too slow and her children couldn’t do their schoolwork. Now she has faster Internet, but it is expensive. “My daughter, who mostly uses it, couldn’t get online, almost couldn’t get into the apps she needed to do her homework, so she applied for $30 more than what I’m paying now,” Lopez said. Smith said, that the pandemic has shed light on the digital divide, and although schools have returned to in-person mode, the need for the Internet to complete schoolwork has not gone away. “It just shed light on how people don’t have access, and if you don’t have access now to something that’s fundamental you can’t, or there’s a lot of things you can’t do, or you’re slowed down so that it puts you at a disadvantage, it’s really a movement to close that gap,” Smith said. You You can find more information about the program here.

SALINAS, Calif. –

People lined up Saturday morning outside the Cesar Chavez Library in Salinas hoping to qualify for free or reduced-cost high-speed Internet access.

The library is just one place in the state where people are signing up for the Get Connected program this weekend.

“This is a real opportunity for people who don’t have services or services are expensive for them and they don’t know where to go,” said Karen Smith of the Monterey County Health Department.

The Get Connected incentive is a government program created to inform people about how they can get affordable, and sometimes free, Internet access.

On Saturday, the county administered a program that helps people who qualify get up to $30 a month in rebates.

One of those waiting in line at Cesar Chavez on Saturday was Estella Lopez. Mother Salinas says her previous Internet access cost $10 a month, but it was too slow and her children couldn’t do their schoolwork. Now she has faster internet, but it is expensive.

“My daughter, who mostly uses it, couldn’t get online, almost couldn’t get into the apps she needed to do her homework, so she applied for the more expensive one, which I’m currently paying $30 for,” Lopez said.

Smith said the pandemic has shed light on the digital divide, and while schools have returned to in-person learning, the need to use the Internet for schoolwork hasn’t gone away.

“It just shone a light on how people don’t have access, and if you don’t have access now to something that’s fundamental, you can’t, or there’s a lot of things you can’t do, or you’re “slowed down , so it puts you at a disadvantage, it’s really a movement to close that gap,” Smith said.

You can find more detailed information about the program here here.

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