Neighborhood Tech Help

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Bridging the digital divide through one-on-one support

Built on ideas42 research into the digital divide, NYC’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) launched the Neighborhood Tech Help (NTH) pilot to prepare NY residents for city agencies’ shift to digital portals and applications, potentially leaving some residents left behind. In 2023, TYTHEdesign was brought on board to oversee this community initiative to support New York City’s three public library systems in implementing the program.

To ensure consistency across pilot sites while allowing for local adaptation, TYTHE co-developed a flexible yet structured program model. Following extensive desk research and collaborative working sessions with library teams, the resulting program model establishes the core elements of the program: the use of trained Tech Corps members to provide support, a commitment to culturally-appropriate, empathetic service, and site-level plans tailored to each library’s infrastructure and community needs. This model served as a guidepost for the rest of the pilot, balancing standardization with responsiveness to local conditions. A key component of the program model is room for libraries to tailor their approach based on specific community demographics, technology needs, and staffing capacity.

The Neighborhood Tech Help program provides personalized, one-on-one tech support by local libraries in neighborhoods across the city to better serve the needs of individuals more directly within their community. Designed as a pilot initiative, the program focuses on helping community members access and understand technology–from setting up email accounts to learning how to use smartphones, job portals, or public services online. This pilot was co-designed with TYTHEdesign, HPD and Brooklyn, New York, and Queens Public Libraries and rolled out across neighborhoods in four boroughs. It combines equity-focused program design, community outreach, and hands-on digital support through trained Tech Corps members.

OUR STRATEGY

Recognizing the importance of trust and visibility, the team co-designed a marketing and outreach strategy that emphasized partnering with trusted community organizations, developing clear, multilingual, and culturally relevant materials, and ensuring outreach through local networks, events, and word of mouth. This toolkit comprises customizable marketing assets for libraries designed by female-led L and L and NYC illustrator, Ilya Milstein.

In partnership with the libraries, TYTHEdesign designed a mobile-first “Neighborhood Tech Help Digital Playbook,” a living document to support day-to-day operations that has been customized for each library system, offering vetted resources, training materials, and referral contacts to meet the anticipated needs of Tech Corps members in the field. This tool ensures that Corps members can deliver consistent, informed, and effective support from site to site.

Libraries began recruiting and onboarding staff to support the pilot in the summer of 2024. To ensure quality service, Tech Corps members received a comprehensive 2.5-hour customer service training, designed by TYTHE, with a focus on addressing language and accessibility barriers, delivering respectful and culturally-informed service, and role-playing client scenarios. In addition, library management was provided with train-the-trainer materials to ensure long-term program sustainability.

THE OUTCOME

With all components in place, the Neighborhood Tech Help program officially launched across the city in March 2025. In the first six months of the program, 1,460 individuals received one-on-one tech support addressing their needs with email access, apps and operating system support, and overcoming a variety of digital barriers to build skills for everyday life. This winter, HPD, OTI, and TYTHEdesign will be releasing our NTH materials to the general public to support communities outside of New York in establishing their own program to bridge the digital divide.

Read the NYC Government Press Release here
See NTH on News 12 Bronx here

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Client: NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

Collaborators: Kristina Drury, Aliza Sarian, and Hans Callenbach

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Year: 2023-2025