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accessHealthNews.net
July 2024
Volume 10 | Issue No. 86
Before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the
world to go virtual in 2020, Essential Families
was already developing a digital platform
with a variety of services and resources to
help move families forward. Through their
extremely successful Essential Broadband
Pilot Program, Kenneth Yancy and Terri
English-Yancy, the husband-and-wife team
behind Essential Families, demonstrated
how internet and computer access,
paired with parental education and family
wellness support, improves the livelihood
of families in underserved areas. Now, they
have plans to expand nationally.
Everything Starts at Home
Essential Families, a state of Missouri
registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, provides
preventive virtual essential programs to
below and slightly above-poverty families
in 23 counties throughout the greater
Kansas City area.
English-Yancy's 24 years of experience
working with the nonprofit, The Family
Conservancy, served as the foundation
for her creation of Essential Families. After
more than two decades of seeing the
stressors both families and family care
providers were facing, she decided to
develop a program that uses technology
to not only address the digital divide but
also provide families with access to much-
needed care, education, and resources.
Yancy has more than 40 years of
experience in software development
and digital marketing, including working
for tech powerhouses IBM, Sprint, and
Cisco Systems, among others. With
this background, he was able to build
the digital platform that hosts Essential
Families' programs.
READ MORE
For the first time, Essential Families will take closing the digital
divide rural. On Monday, August 12, 2024, 15 households will be
gifted with a free laptop, receive training on how to use it if needed,
and ultimately have access to a virtual gateway of health care and
mental health board-certified physicians. The event will be held at
the Lafayette County Health Department and will be facilitated by
trained navigators from Grace Advertising and Altruism, Inc.
