The Reducing the Impact of Financial Strain Project (RIFS) is a collaborative effort between Alberta Health Services, the Town of Morinville, and local community agencies. Our project goal is to identify and reduce within our community, possible barriers to services due to financial hardships. While we have several action items on our plate, one we would like to bring to your attention is the provision of technology such as laptops, webcams, microphones and printers to locations where they can be used safely by members of the community who wouldn’t otherwise have access.
In our world, both pre-COVID-19 but also even more so during the pandemic, reliable access to online services has moved from being a luxury to being a necessity. Individuals use technology to apply for employment, to complete programs, certificates and other schooling, to research and apply for social assistance programs, to access counselling and social services, as well as to enable social connections via email, social media platforms, video calls, etc. Having internet services and the technology to access it is vital to interacting personally and professionally in our society.
This is why our project has an action item with two goals.
To identify places in town, both in a central location as well as via on-location signage, where WiFi is available for public use.
To provide specific areas, where possible, laptops or other pieces of technology that could be signed out and used on location by the public.
While we as a group do have a small list of locations where we envision placing WiFi signs and/or laptops, we would like to engage the community in our decision-making process.
Do you have an idea of a public location in our community (including Morinville, Sturgeon County and the Alexander First Nation) that would be ideal for the placement of a laptop or the addition of a webcam/mic/printer or other piece of equipment to an existing system? Let us know by the end of December!
You can do so in the comments section here, or by email at RIFSMorinville@gmail.com.
You can also use this email if you are interested in more information about the RIFS Project in Morinville and surrounding areas, or on any of our other action items/initiatives.
Thanks,
Kim Mills
Community Connector
RIFS Project Morinville
