Bridging COVID-19 Isolation and the Digital Divide with Bridging Tech
In 2021, it is nearly impossible to get anything done without a laptop: apply for a job, go to school, safely connect with friends, or schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment. Yet, there are fewer laptops in existence than humans on this planet, presenting a unique challenge for unhoused students. Not only are they disadvantaged in terms of their living situation, but also have to deal with this extra technological hurdle known as the digital divide.
Naturalized Americans have a unique set of familial and institutional knowledge about how to navigate the complex and confusing American system: What is an SAT? Who can I ask for help on my math homework? Where can I get free public Wi-Fi? While these questions might seem obvious to a second-generation resident, they are anything but for immigrant and first-generation communities. This week’s episode of Back in America, hosted by Podcast Editor Josh Wagner, highlights Bridging Tech, a charity devoted to providing hardware and other educational resources for unhoused students. Having donated nearly 1,000 laptops nationwide, Bridging Tech is developing infrastructure for companies and individuals to donate disused computers to be wiped/refurbished before being donated to unhoused communities. Founded by rising Stanford seniors, Isabel Wang and Margot Bellon, Bridging Tech is committed to listening to the unhoused community and creating actually helpful resources, rather than assuming what would be best and offering potentially unhelpful solutions. Holly Giang, Bridging Tech’s Foundation Relations Manager, also joins us for the interview.
To find out how unhoused youths can go to online school, what policy measures are holding back their success, and how to get involved with Bridging Tech, listen to our episode!
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In the coming weeks, the Back in America team will be launching an eight-part series investigating the relationship between music and poetry, tentatively titled “Rhythmic Verses.” Join Podcast Editor Josh Wagner as he poetically travels around the country, asking the age-old question: What is American to you?
Witchcraft and Feminism: Three American witches share their experiences
Tricia Baker: "My Dog Saved My Life" - Inside Dog Therapy and Mental Health Education
Zionism, Mysticism, and the Law: Sam Shonkoff and his students on American Judaism today
Dr. Maya Rockeymoore Cummings: On her Late Husband Elijah Cummings, Black Feminism, Civil Rights...
The Promise of a Better Human: James Clement on our Transhuman futures
Divers from the EPIX/ BBC Docuseries “Enslaved”: Diving on Shipwrecked Slave Ships
Richard Heinberg: Has America Reached Its Limits? Biden, Climate, The End of Fossil Fuel
On the Frontlines of the 2020 Election with Poll-worker Josh Wagner
Listen Again: Sheri Kurdakul CEO of VictimVoice tells her story of abuse that started when she was a toddler (with Nov. 2020 update)
How do you feel about the election? Six Interviews with Democrats and Republicans
Listen again: John Michael Greer an American Druid on Americans Individualism, Societal Collapse, and the Values of the Frontier Period
Thierry Sauvage -- COVID, changement de vie : de Shanghai au Croisic
Guns, God & the 2nd Amendment in America - David Treibs Christian & Guns Activist - Prof. Robert Spitzer Constitution and Gun Control Expert, SUNY Cortland
BrooklynDad_Defiant: Liberal Online Activist Majid Padellan Talks About his Fight to Elect Joe Biden
Derrick Cobb - From New York Homeless Teen to Hollywood Music Star
Dr. Glenda Wrenn on COVID, Remote work, Mental Health & Corporate America
Don't miss the two live interviews on Sept. 14 and 16th
Part 2/2 - Eric Marsh, Black Activist on the George Floyd's Mural
Part 1/2 - Cadex Herrera Lead Artist of George Floyd's Mural
Trailer Back in America August 2020
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