The City of Topeka is one of four nonprofit organizations selected as grant recipients of the Kansas Digital Equity and Inclusion Collaborative.
The City of Topeka has received $250,000 in funding. The first year of funding is spent planning and engaging with the community, and the second and third year will be spent implementing community-based plans and policies.
“This grant funding is an important step in creating digital equity for our community,” said City Manager Brent Trout. “This is the first step to eliminating the digital divide and creating better educational, economic and health environments for everyone in Topeka through digital access and literacy.”
This grant will support multi-sector community collaboratives to develop and advocate for policies, programs and services that promote greater digital access, adoption, literacy and inclusion among families of color, low-wage worker households and other Kansans experiencing systemic barriers. The COVID-19 pandemic has deepened the digital divide, especially in low-income communities of color, rural and other under-resourced areas of Kansas as health services and schooling became remote.
“I am very excited about this opportunity to address any local digital divide issues we face through the support from the Kansas Health Foundation. A great team from across our community worked together to get us to this point, and each bring an individual strength, expertise and a dedicated commitment to using this moment to build out a sound strategy towards delivering digital equity & inclusion in Topeka and Shawnee County,” said Lazone Grays, a member of the digital equity work group.
“We are so very appreciative of the Kansas Health Foundation and their decision to award this grant for the Kansas Digital Equity and Inclusion Collaborative. Our team of advocates from the City of Topeka and several community partners is so very proud to be help our neighbors access digital resources and to empower them with learning opportunities and support to use those resources for the benefit of their families. Healthcare, Education, Shopping, Employment, Finance, and other opportunities will soon be available to every family in Topeka, and our community will be better for it!” said Scott Gowan, Chief Information Officer for Topeka Public Schools.
To help Kansas families attain the best possible educational, economic and health outcomes, high-speed digital access and literacy is necessary. This initiative will focus on a two-generation approach, so more Kansas children and adults have the opportunity for digital success in the future.
The Topeka Digital Equity Inclusion Partnership Program will create part-time technical and digital navigator positions to collect and share community-based resources and provide digital literacy training, equipment and basic technical support for minority and low-to-moderate-income communities within 31 Topeka neighborhoods.
Initial policy focus and activities will include:
- Advocacy for policies that support the collective vision of the community and local businesses;
- Advocate for digital equity policies and plans targeted to underserved Topeka residents, including low-income families and people of color;
- Implementation of policies and plans that align efforts with existing federal agency initiatives.