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Casa Latina (2024) Print
2024 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Digital Connections
└ Digital navigation skills
└ Digital navigation skills
Latino workers in Seattle faced barriers to digital access, leaving older adults isolated and unable to manage daily tasks. Casa Latina distributed 36 hotspots and 20 laptops, offered 64 bilingual classes and over 50 one-on-one sessions to build confidence and skills. The program helped participants connect with loved ones, access telehealth and pursue education. One member used her new laptop to complete a business course and launch a catering business, showing how digital literacy can transform lives.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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San Antonio, TX
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Digital navigation skills
Description: Older adults in Opportunity Home communities faced a deep digital divide, lacking devices and skills to manage health care, benefits and communication. The project installed laptop computers in 11 properties and provided additional laptops for classes led by Older Adults Technology Services. Across nine sites, 35 courses delivered 90 hours of instruction, with nearly 100 graduates gaining confidence to navigate online services and connect with family. The initiative reduced isolation, created peer support networks and eliminated barriers like transportation costs. This has positioned the community for sustained digital inclusion and future partnerships.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Kissimmee, FL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Digital navigation skills
Description: Many older adults had difficulty accessing food, digital tools and emergency information, especially when transportation or stable housing was limited. These gaps increased isolation and made it harder to stay safe during hurricanes and other disruptions. The Black Empowerment & Community Council responded by converting a minivan into a mobile resource hub that delivered services directly into neighborhoods. Through outreach stops, staff provided meals and food supplies, computer literacy help, laptops and hurricane preparedness resources. Older adults also received one-on-one navigation to connect with housing, benefits and local services. One unhoused older adult shared that receiving meals and preparedness supplies on site increased their sense of safety during hurricane season. By bringing support to where people were, the project reduced access barriers and helped residents remain safer and more connected.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Trenton, NC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Digital navigation skills
Description: In rural Jones County, many older adults lacked internet access and digital skills, leaving them unable to schedule telemedicine visits or connect with family. To close this gap, the project created a digital literacy curriculum and hosted seven community events, including workshops and a graduation. Forty-five participants received laptops and personalized support through house calls. One couple, both dialysis patients, learned to book virtual appointments and now use video calls to stay in touch with loved ones. Plans to align with a national digital training program will expand training and establish a hub for advanced classes.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
King County, WA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2020
Project Category: Access to health care services
Description: Working in the Beacon Hill area of Seattle, International Community Health Services launched a multilingual educational campaign to increase the awareness of online telehealth services in underserved immigrant communities, chiefly the local Asian American Pacific Islander population. The organization credits the effort with helping to increase rates of telehealth visits, vaccinations and awareness about medical resources.
Seattle, WA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Innovative home maintenance, repair and support services
Description: Rising home costs and unaffordable repairs left many older adults at risk of losing their homes. Habitat SKKC expanded its aging-in-place services through the CAPABLE program, combining home safety modifications with in-home support from an occupational therapist and nurse. Six homeowners received tailored plans and repairs, from grab bars to handrails, improving safety and independence. The program helps older adults remain in their homes for years, reducing health care costs and preserving community stability while scaling to serve more households.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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