Chico-Based Nonprofit Creates Turnkey Solution to Educating the Unsheltered Population about COVID-19
“UnshelteredTV” is a radical new way to provide COVID-19 prevention information
Chico, CA, April 17, 2020—illuminAid, a Chico, CA-based technology nonprofit, is offering a radical new turnkey solution to help battle COVID-19 among Butte County’s unsheltered population. This solution, known as the “UnshelteredTV” initiative, uses portable, handheld projectors to help local aid organizations share important messaging about handwashing and social distancing to people experiencing homelessnes.
In coordination with key Public Information Officers and stakeholders, illuminAid translates important public health information into short digestible videos, using local experts and respected members of the unsheltered community to portray the messages. At dusk, extension workers will visit encampments around the city to play the videos and share information that the rest of society accesses so easily through internet and television.
“The unsheltered are in desperate need of timely information and their service providers are anxious to deliver imperative insights,” said Matt York, founder and Executive Director of illuminAid. “Everyone has a TV network except the unsheltered.”
Worldwide, most messages created around best practices to reduce the spread of COVID-19 assume the populations have homes to shelter in place and are able to reduce points of contact. Messaging specifically designed to target unsheltered populations will result in higher adoption rates of prevention practices.
For organizations overwhelmed with the high number of increased needs in the community, the UnshelteredTV program provides a fast, effective solution to deliver life-saving information to unsheltered people who don’t visit shelters or resource centers. The deployment is grab-and-go: pick up a projector pre-loaded with educational videos, head to a local gathering area or encampment, and share it with the residents there.
“We are creating an innovative information network for the community’s most vulnerable population,” said York.
Currently, the Butte County Dept. of Employment and Social Services has committed to deployment of the Unsheltered TV program and is in active conversations with Butte County Public Health on proper messaging points. illuminAid is seeking funding from key city stakeholders including the City of Chico and the Enloe Foundation.
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illuminAid's mission is to help in educating the world’s poorest billion people through low-cost video technology. They envision a world where electricity, illiteracy, location, language and materials are no longer barriers to positive social change. Through locally created video instruction, small improvements in knowledge dissemination can fuel this progress for individuals and communities. Learn more at www.ompt.org.