Don’t miss this short set of interviews on KALW’s Crosscurrents by Jen Chien on how SF Connected computer training is helping San Francisco seniors and adults with disabilities connect (and reconnect) with friends and family, get access to resources that are moving online, and stay involved in their communities. Here’s how the computer training has helped one participant:
Tricia Webb not only understands that need for connectedness, she lives it..She spends her days and nights in a hospital bed in the living room of her apartment in the Western Addition. …She says she still remembers how she felt the first time she encountered a computer.
“Scared to death!” she says. “I was like, ‘I won’t touch nothing, ‘cause I ain’t breaking nooothing.’”
But with the help of the Community Living Campaign, one of the main partner organizations of SF Connected, she now has a solid set of tech skills.
“It’s amazing: the things, the confidence that I gained from that,” she says. “So now, I social media all over the place, you know!”
From her bed, Webb uses a tablet and a smartphone to keep in touch with the world. She emails and texts, plays online games, and keeps in touch with her family on facebook.
Read the full article and listen to the Crosscurrents program on KALW here.
The SF Connected program is funded by San Francisco’s Department of Aging and Adult Services, and provides computer training and access to seniors and adults with disabilities on over 250 computers, configured in 6 languages, in more than 55 locations all around the city. The Community Living Campaign, Community Technology Network, Self-Help for the Elderly, Conard House, and Reliatech provide computer classes and support through the SF Connected program. To see a calendar of all free classes or for more information, go to www.sfconnected.org or call (415) 355-3555.