ABC Statements

In my decades of working in Los Angeles, I’ve seen firsthand how the digital divide affects the Latino/a community here. I’ve sat with hundreds of involved parents and local community advocates who can’t fully participate in civic life or pursue their goals because of unreliable internet service or who are forced to make the difficult decision to cut their service because of unaffordable rates. In fact, over 1 million Latino/as in California are without internet access.

Climate change presents serious challenges to creating an environment conducive to learning in areas called “heat islands,” an urban area surrounded by concrete and cement where the reflection of the sun significantly raises the temperature.

Four years ago, Claudia Aleman and her family had only one way to get online — through their cellphones. Without internet service on a computer, her youngest daughter couldn’t get homework assignments in on time, her parents couldn’t keep up with online doctor visits, and the English classes she wanted to sign up for were out of reach.

Groups that Alliance for a Better Community works with largely non-English speaking non-US born immigrant parents are often left out of that community engagement project.