September 2020 Network News

CENSUS DEADLINE APPROACHING — LET’S GET EVERYONE COUNTED!

September is the official final leg of this marathon-turned-ultramarathon that is the 2020 Census. ALL residents are urged to complete the census online or with a census taker during September. Self-response continues through the end of the month, and paper questionnaires postmarked on September 30 will be accepted until October 7. Please be sure you’re counted and remind everyone you know!

HELP WANTED — BILINGUAL VOLUNTEERS TO BECOME DIGITAL COACHES

In response to the COVID pandemic, we reformatted our traditional in-person training to a remote training platform called Home Connect. As Home Connect continues to expand, so does our need for volunteer digital coaches to provide customized training and support in several languages.

• Alice: Although Alice has devoted her life to helping others, her life was turned upside down in early 2020 when she experienced a health crisis that left her homebound and dependent on others for assistance. Then the pandemic’s stay-at-home requirements further restricted her activities and interactions. That’s when Alice was referred to CTN.
• Rosario: A native of El Salvador and a Californian since 1977, Rosario has worked for many years as an advice nurse in Oakland. She took a leave of absence to take care of her husband, and now both are isolated at home due to the pandemic. That meant the computer classes she had signed up for at the health center were canceled.
• Renee: When Renee was asked how she got involved in the Home Connect training, she did not hesitate to answer: “I was referred by God, and Heaven gave me my new tablet! I was amazed and overwhelmed that I received a gift of a tablet and training. Her passion for learning and her gratitude demonstrate the impact CTN has made for her.
• Adelaida: Adelaida, a native of El Salvador, eagerly applied to participate in CTN’s Home Connect program. Although she was happy to have been accepted into the Spanish-language training, she became apprehensive about her ability to be successful. She could use her cellphone, but could she learn to use a computer?
• Kennard: When Kennard Wilson was invited to participate in CTN’s Home Connect program, he was initially skeptical until he Googled CTN and found out we are a legitimate organization, so he applied to the program. Kennard has mostly taught himself to use computers (with some help from friends and his daughter).
• Bessie: CTN partnered with Austin’s Family Eldercare to provide basic computer training to a group of seniors from November 2018 through January 2019. In a follow-up call, older adult learner Bessie Paris shares her perspective on the training and how her new knowledge continues to impact her life every day.

PARTNER SPOTLIGHT — AT&T CALIFORNIA DONATES $20,000 TO CTN

AT&T California recently awarded a $20,000 grant to Community Tech Network to provide digital literacy training to homebound seniors who are most at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds will enable CTN’s Home Connect program to purchase tablets and provide virtual training to 100 vulnerable seniors.

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT — KATE SHELUDZIAYEVA

While studying psychology in her native country of Belarus, Kate had an opportunity to emigrate to the United States. Her first job in the U.S. was with CTN in an administrative position. Soon she offered to use her native language skills to help the large population of older Russian-speaking immigrants living in the Bay Area.