Debra Atwood was worried about getting online when she met Connect Lake County representatives, but now she’s hooked. She is also concerned that the federally funded Affordable Connections Program (ACP) will soon end.
Since getting internet service through ACP, Atwood has used her new skills to find places to worship, start a business, move from place to place, and meet people. She also takes the time to teach her neighbors what to do.
“I found a place to go to church,” Ms. Atwood said. “Without MapQuest, I wouldn’t know how to get anywhere.” It’s a way of connecting with my customers. I help others with their buildings. I’m on a dating site. It’s for me. I’m addicted.”
Mr. Atwood told Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Jeffrey Starks on Tuesday at Zion’s Shiloh Tower about his story, mainly elderly people who provided information to advocate on their behalf for new funding. He was one of dozens of people, mostly people.
“We’re going to focus on raising additional funds for ACP,” Starks said after the event. “I’m going to talk to the people in the White House and on the (Capitol) Hill. I’m going to be their voice.
“It helps seniors connect with their children and grandchildren,” he said.
Starks said the funding is scheduled to end in April, but there is a $7 billion funding bill in Congress that he hopes will be passed by then.
Thomas Stokes told Starks how important internet access was to him. Stokes said almost everything a person wants to do has to be done online. It is essential for education and employment.
“Without it, you can’t apply for a job,” Stokes says. “Before, you could go into a store and apply. Now it’s all paperless.
For Tim Foley, the internet helps him connect with family outside of town. And, most importantly, you can now receive medical care from anywhere in the country using telemedicine.
“I went to the Cleveland Clinic and they helped me preserve my memory and vision,” Foley said. “Now you can go to the Mayo Clinic or the Cleveland Clinic and live a healthy life. I even texted her daughter her first message.”
Paul Pissios is a retired teacher who considers himself computer savvy. He continues to teach because “we are lifelong learners.” He said he’s also helping neighbors in his building gain skills.
“I still keep in touch with (former) students,” Pisios said. “We’ll do it on Zoom. The internet helps us stay educated. Education gives us information to make the right decisions. We don’t need to watch TV or mind-numbing programs. There’s no internet. There’s internet.”
Connect Lake County program manager Taylor Erickson helps teach people how to improve their computer skills once they have access to a computer. She told about a conversation she had with one of her students.
“He continued to act as if he were in a public place and was trying to check his bank account,” Erickson said. “He said he didn’t do it because of what I taught him.”
When President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill was signed into law in November 2021, funding for ACP was also part of the bill. Shortly thereafter, Connect Waukegan (now known as Connect Lake County) began helping people get online.
Connect Lake County helps under-resourced people in the Waukegan, North Chicago, Zion, and Round Lake areas access funding, as well as help them obtain devices and teach them how to utilize resources. Ta.
Connect Lake County Executive Director Candace Braudy said that between April 2022 and the end of last year, Connect Lake County guided approximately 500 people through the process of getting online and ultimately connected. He said he has helped an additional 400 people who are now able to do so.
