Tech Hub on Southside aims to close digital divide

By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook Staff Writer

Jabaree Allen didn’t say a lot while he sat on a back row listening to details about how families in low income Southside communities will get access to the internet. 

His demeanor was much different outside of the building that houses the Apalachee Ridge Technology and Learning Center where the South Side Digital Engagement Hub is located. Allen saw all sorts of possibilities for young people coming through the Tallahassee Connect initiative that was one of the topics discussed.

Allen, owner of Business Automation Pros software company, plans to work with the Hub as a volunteer.

“The young people are going to be the most brilliant and brightest kids in the world,” Allen said. “This is a possibility to take it and solve the problems that their grandparents had. They can say, my aunt died from diabetes, let me come up with something that is an early detector of diabetes. What can I do to solve these problems so that my sister and her daughter don’t face the same fate. These are the types of things that are going to come out of something like this.”

Young people seemingly are Allen’s focus because their involvement in technology could be life-changing.

“What I want to be able to do it teach the youth how to use this to better their everyday life, how to make financial gains and build an educational financial background,” he said. “But for the elderly, it’s teaching everyday household technology and making that information accessible.”

The Hub is the latest attempt to get internet service to low income families on the Southside, said Christic Henry, President Greater Apalachee Ridge Estates Neighborhood Association. She presented details of the resurgence at a community meeting last Tuesday at the Hub.

The Hub at the Apalachee Ridge Technology and Learning Center is set up like a classroom with computers on each desk. It’s is expected to become the spot where families can get computer training from digital navigators or tech instructors. 

Some families have already received free computers or other internet connection devices donated by Comcast. In addition to Apalachee Ridge, other residents that will get internet access include those who live in South City, across Paul Russell Road and portions of Tram Road.

A lot of what goes on at the Digital Engagement Hub, is being funded by a $75,000 grant from Comcast. Having a Digital Navigators’ program is high on Comcast list of expectations, according to a June 27 press release announcing the grant. Digital Navigators role at the hub will be to educate and help Southside residents get online, while developing digital skills and connecting to available resources.

“By funding the creation of a Digital Navigators program with our dedicated community partners, we are one step closer to closing the digital divide in Tallahassee and making sure that everyone here has the access and skills needed to take advantage of the Internet’s vast resources,” Bret Perkins, Comcast Senior Vice President of External and Government Affairs,” said in a statement.

Comcast has been providing low cost or free internet to underserved families for more than 10 years, said Stefanie Bowden, External Affairs Manger with the cable giant.

Through Comcast’s involvement, homes that have kids on free or reduced price lunch program qualified for internet service. That expanded to include families on public housing or low income veterans. Low income families who are currently without internet could have it for either $9.95 or $29.95 monthly.

“It’s going to help them from an educational standpoint,” Bowden said of the internet options and having the Hub. “They are also going to learn about tele-health. It’s critical that people understand how they can get access to their doctors in the comfort of their homes. It’s going to help them advance their careers.”

Families who qualify for the federal government’s Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program would get a $30 credit toward their internet bill. It is part of a $65 billion investment into providing internet service to marginalized communities that was announced by the Biden-Harris administration in June.

Meanwhile, families who didn’t have internet service before it was made available through the Hub program, relied on going to the library for their children to do homework or even seek out jobs, said Henry.

Through the Comcast partnership, the Hub is changing that.

“People need access in their homes,” Henry said. “They don’t need to go to the library for their children to do their homework. They need to be able to do it at home. They might be able to work from home but if they don’t have internet service that eliminates that entire opportunity for them.”

Having the resources that are available at the Hub will be helpful in expanding computer training that the Boys and Girls Club of The Big Bend offers at its Sunrise community location. Even bigger, said Kacy Dennis, CEO of Boys and Girls Club of the Big Bend, it will narrow the digital divide in the area.

“This partnership is definitely critical to help these kids move on to the advance stages,” Dennis said. “We have tuns of different computer literacy programs that the kids participate in but this is being able to take it to the next level and learn more. I’m just super excited about this opportunity.”