Millions of Americans stand to lose their subsidized home internet connection this year

When Dorothy Burrell’s lupus flares, she has days she can’t walk or get out of bed. On those days, her home internet connection is a lifeline. But the 54-year-old Missouri resident couldn’t afford home internet until 2022, when her pastor told her about the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). After a local nonprofit helped her sign up and provided her with a Chromebook, Burrell used her connection to attend virtual doctor’s appointments, order medication and groceries to her door, and ultimately to find a work-from-home job with Essential Families, the nonprofit that helped her obtain service. Unfortunately, the ACP is slated to run out of money by the beginning of May, raising the internet bills of the 23 million households who benefit from the program. Among them are some of the country’s most vulnerable: the unhoused, the elderly, the un- and underemployed, and low-income parents and students.