With unemployment hotline overloaded and stimulus on hold, PA boosts chatbot 90x

Online volunteer assistance efforts in New York have played a crucial role in the dissemination of the COVID-19 vaccine, while city and state appointment systems have caused confusion or created barriers for many. Although these efforts can't address all barriers, such as lack of computer access or literacy, they have been used by thousands of people each day to find available appointment times.

In classrooms or at home, elementary students in Oakdale have more options for virtual tours and visit thanks to virtual fieldtrips. Museums, theaters, and different organizations are bettering the virtual tour experience for students, while also providing opportunities for students to virtually visit places across spread across the country instead of being limited to close surroundings.

To quickly distribute money to poverty-stricken areas in Togo during the coronavirus pandemic, the country's government turned to mobile cash payments. Working with a nonprofit and UC Berkeley’s Center for Effective Global Action, Togo established a system of mobile payments to reach 30,000 of Togo’s poorest people who were identified via satellite imagery and image analysis algorithms.

In South Carolina, 180,000 households don’t have access to Wifi, according to estimates. A problem for students who are trying to attend virtual classes. Using CARES funds, the state purchased hotspots. In one county, almost all of the students are connected. “The hotspots are working well, with just about all of the county’s 77,000 students logging on to learn.”

In order to bridge the digital divide one school district in Virginia is putting Wi-Fi routers on its school buses. They call them Smart Buses. They buses drive out to neighborhoods where students don't have access to fast, reliable internet. “Four of the Smart Buses go out every day. Each can serve about 40 students, covering about three-quarters of the need in the district.”

An indigenous community has tapped into new technology to provide broadband internet access which is critical for virtual learning during the coronavirus shutdown of schools. Digital radio waves were used to broadcast a high-speed internet signal covering hundreds of miles of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe reservation. Using radio waves to access internet was only possible due to a ruling passed by the FCC in 2019 that allow radio waves to be leased. Tribal governments were given priority access to broadcast licensing.

Coronavirus-related loneliness increased demand for groups that help people make personal connections and new friends, even if at a distance. A New York MeetUp, “I wanted to do that … just not alone”, has seen attendance at socially distanced activities increase. “Living Room Conversations,” an online platform where volunteers host discussions on timely topics, saw 1,000 new members since March and a 62% increase in page views. The groups encourage vulnerability and connection, but are not meant to replace professional mental-health counseling for those who are struggling with loneliness and other traumas.

To expand wifi access during the coronavirus pandemic for those who work in the agricultural community and in migrant farmworker camps, the City of The Dalles partnered and collaborated with Google and other community businesses to purchase hot spots and Chromebooks for farmworkers to use. The hot spots don't work in all areas of the county, but in the orchards with cell service where they have been installed, they have been helping to provide access to telemedicine and educational services.

A village in the UK didn't have access to internet, so the community joined together to build the infrastructure for broadband in their area. Although "building resilient, fibre-fed networks in rural areas" wasn't easy or cheap, it has made a difference, especially during the pandemic, in helping the community feel less isolated.

The restrictions imposed by the coronavirus have turned horseracing in Nebraska into an unexpected boon. City officials allowed racing tracks to be open—with precautions—because the horses' livelihoods depend on the jockeys' livelihoods. The grandstands are empty, masks are worn, and temperatures are taken regularly. People from all over the country are betting on the horses online, providing some income, albeit less money than usual. They are also enjoying the increase interest as a way to educate people on Nebraska's history with horse racing.