Community Health and Kempner Family Community Development Center to provide free tablets, phones for those who qualify on Saturday at the Copperas Cove library
By BRITTANY FHOLER
Cove Leader-Press
The local Community Health Worker office and the Kempner Family Community Development Center are partnering together Saturday, February 10, to provide free tablets or phones to individuals who qualify under the government’s Affordable Connectivity Program, at the Copperas Cove Public Library, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Eligibility for the ACP is for households whose income is at or below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, or if a member of the household meets at least one of the following criteria: received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year; participates in the Free and Reduced-Price School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program, including at U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Community Eligibility Provision schools; in SNAP (food stamps); Medicaid; Federal Housing Assistance, to include Section 8 vouchers, Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA)/Section 202/ Section 811; Public Housing; SSI disability; WIC; Veterans Pension or Survivor Benefits.
One of the state’s local Community Health Workers, Tim Jefferies, stated that his office is partnering with the Kempner Family Center to provide the tablets or phones to all who qualify/are eligible under the ACP.
As a certified Community Health Worker, Jefferies also assists clients in filling out Medicaid, Medicare or food stamp applications at no cost, and provides assistance in getting copies of birth certificates.
The Kempner Family Community Development Center was founded in 2020 and aims to help the greater community of Kempner. The Center is a non-profit and partners to host blood drives, community cleanups, offers community assistance, community events, free shredding and free technology.
“This may also be one of the last opportunities for a lot of people to qualify unless government funding for ACA program is approved by Congress,” Jefferies said.
Because funding is dwindling and Congress has not renewed funding, the ACP is now winding down.
The ACP normally requires eligible individuals to pay at least $10 for the device, but Jefferies said that the $11 fee for these tablets and phones has been covered by the non-profit. The tablets and phones are high quality and come with unlimited talk and text plus 18 GB of data, he added.
To qualify for the free device, individuals will need to bring the required documentation showing that they receive the government assistance previously mentioned.
For more information, contact Tim Jefferies, by phone at 512-734-5811 or by email via jefferies@txcommunityhealth.com.
The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is a government benefit program operated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that provides discounts on monthly broadband Internet access service and certain connected devices. The program was established in 2021 by Congress with the bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which appropriated $14.2 billion for the program. Currently, the ACP funding is projected to run out at the end of April 2024, according to the FCC website.