MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Montgomery County is handing out thousands of free laptops to families in need. Montgomery Connects is the county's digital equity and inclusion program. The program is giving 34,000 Chromebooks eligible households.
Low-income families make up 21% of county households, but represent 60% of households without computers according to County Executive Marc Elrich.
Here's how you can qualify:
- Must be enrolled in a benefit program, such as SNAP food benefits, Medicaid (not regular Medicare), free school lunch, WIC, SSI (not regular Social Security), Pell Grants for college students or Housing Choice Vouchers or Project-Based Rental Assistance.
- Must be enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity or Lifeline internet or telephone discount programs.
- The household must earn less than 200 percent of the Federal poverty rate ($29,160 for a one-person household, $39,440 for a two-person household, $49,720 for a three-person household, $60,000 for a four-person household — and $10,280 for each additional person in the household).
"There are so many stories we have of people who are trying to fill out job applications, or trying to do work and when you’re trying to do it on your tiny phone and you get a notification or someone texts you …you got to have a good internet connection you got to have a computer," said Mitsuko Herrera, the Montgomery Connects program director.
Click here to make an appointment to receive a computer. Appointments can be made up until one day before a distribution event.
Here's what you need to bring with you once you've made the appointment:
- Photo identification
- Proof of address. If a person is using a Photo ID without an address (such as a passport), they must bring a piece of mail or online bill showing their address.
- Proof of enrollment in a benefit program or proof of income by bringing:
- A SNAP or Medicaid card.
- ACP or Lifeline program on an internet bill.
- Enrollment letter showing the program name, date and notice of eligibility.
- First page of their income tax return (a W-2 or paystub cannot be used because a person may have more than one job).
"The people who are eligible for these computers are because you already qualified for another benefit program or because you have income below a certain amount . It can be hard to come up with those few extra hundred dollars that you need to get the computer because it’s a choice between this or more food or more medicine or gas," said Herrera.
Only one laptop per household is allowed.
If a resident needs assistance to make an appointment, please call the Marylander Online Help Hotline at 301-405-9810, Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. or on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Help is available in English and Spanish and in other languages upon request.
Here's the schedule for upcoming distribution events:
- Tuesday, July 18. Noon-4 p.m. Gaithersburg Library, 18330 Montgomery Village Ave., Gaithersburg
- Wednesday, July 19. Noon-4 p.m. Wheaton American Job Center, 11510 Georgia Ave., Wheaton
- Thursday, July 20. 1-5 p.m. McGee Library, 900 Wayne Ave., Silver Spring
- Saturday, July 22. 11 a.m-3 p.m. Eastern Montgomery Regional Service Center, 3300 Briggs Chaney Rd, Silver Spring
- Tuesday, July 25. Noon-4 p.m. Germantown American Job Center, 12900 Middlebrook Rd., Germantown
- Thursday, July 27. Noon-4 p.m. Aspen Hill Library, 4407 Aspen Hill Rd., Rockville
- Friday, July 28. 2-6 p.m. McGee Library, 9000 Wayne Ave. Silver Spring