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Board approves $2.3M HRSA-backed MOU with Housing Authority to upgrade digital labs for older adults

Baltimore City Board of Estimates · January 7, 2026

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Summary

Baltimore's Board of Estimates approved a memorandum of understanding with the Housing Authority of Baltimore City to upgrade five labs serving older adults, deploy devices and provide digital navigators and $20/month gigabit service, funded in part by a $2.3 million HRSA grant.

The Board of Estimates on Jan. 7 approved an MOU between Baltimore City's Broadband & Digital Equity office (BSIT) and the Housing Authority of Baltimore City (HABC) intended to upgrade five HABC resident labs, provide devices and on-site digital navigation, and expand affordable internet access.

Kenya Ausley, director of broadband digital equity, said BSIT received a four-year $2.3 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to extend resources to older adults and proposed using the funds to refurbish five HABC labs, deploy laptops and tablets, and station digital navigators through a partnership with the Digital Harbor Foundation. Ausley said the program will complement an ISP project launched with HABC to provide gigabit speeds to residents at $20 per month and free Wi-Fi at the upgraded locations.

Board members asked about navigator services, training and partnerships. Ausley said digital navigators will provide hands-on help with tasks such as creating email accounts or using word-processing software, will float among the five sites, and that previous BSIT efforts trained more than 2,300 older adults and provided wellness sessions at program sites. The board voted to approve the MOU.