CHICOPEE – Many senior citizens are feeling lonely and disconnected during this time of COVID-19 and social distancing. The RiverMills Center is working to help change this through their new tablet lending program. Starting Jan. 6, Chicopee residents that are ages 55 and older who have internet access will be able to borrow a tablet through the Senior Center.

Program Technician at the RiverMills Center Jonael Ruiz explained that employees of the center knew that many of their residents were struggling without access to technology and began to look for a way to help.

“We knew there were seniors out there that didn’t have a way to get on the internet. If they had computers, a lot of them were old and outdated and they didn’t work well with Zoom, which most of our programming is on Zoom,” said Ruiz.

The RiverMills Center Tablet Lending Program was started thanks to funding from the WestMass ElderCare Grant Title III Mini-Grant. This money allowed the Senior Center to purchase eight tablets available for rent.

The tablets are fully loaded with shortcuts to the Senior Center’s newsletter, the city’s website and some commonly used social media, game and email apps. Rentals come with charging and typing accessories, a basic user guide to help walk seniors through how to use some of the apps, like Zoom, and Ruiz’s phone number and email in case extra help is needed.

Seniors won’t have to update or download anything onto the tablet unless they would like to add more free apps themselves, which they are allowed to do, according to Ruiz.

Due to COVID-19, all of the RiverMills Center programs are currently being conducted through Zoom.

“It’s basically to help the seniors that would like to join our programming, get on or even just be online in general if they want to use Facebook or Instagram or something like that,” said Ruiz. “We definitely heard a need from our community and this is our effort to fill that need.”

The tablets can be rented for up to three weeks at a time. If there isn’t a wait list, seniors can extend their rental for longer. If the demand for tablets is high, Ruiz said the senior center would definitely look to purchase more tablets in the future.

“We thought we could start off with eight, and that’s all the funds we had for this, but I’m sure if there’s a bigger demand then we will definitely look for more,” he said.

Those interested in learning more about the RiverMills Center Tablet Lending Program or renting a tablet themselves are encouraged to reach out to Jonael Ruiz at jruiz@chicopeema.gov or 534-3698 ext.104.