Joe A. Cloud, MD - State Representative

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered online activity in our state. More Arkansans are working remotely, learning through distance education, using telehealth, and attending online church services.

It remains to be seen to what extent some of the changes in habit will continue after the health crisis ends. That is why 2020 is a critical year for closing the digital divide in Arkansas.

This week, the House and Senate committees for Advanced Communication and Information Technology were briefed on a new tool designed to give the state an accurate picture of the current broadband service available.

Arkansans are encouraged to visit broadband.arkansas.gov and click on the “Test Your Broadband Speed” green button icon in the lower right-hand corner.

This directs the user to a speed test, which will determine the user’s upload speed and download speed. The user will then be directed to a quick survey of 11 questions.

The questions include asking the user the name of their provider, how much they pay for the service, and what speed has been promised by the provider.

The results of the speed test are then integrated into the Arkansas Broadband Survey Results Dashboard.

The Arkansas State Broadband Plan outlines a goal of seeing 25Mbps/3Mbps broadband deployed to all population centers in Arkansas over 500 by the year 2022. While Arkansas has a way to go before reaching that goal, we are making progress. Just recently, the legislature approved a measure to direct $100 million of CARES Act funding to the Arkansas Rural Connect program, a grant program designed to expand the broadband footprint in rural Arkansas communities.

The information you provide will help the Arkansas State Broadband Office determine what areas of our state are underserved and what our next steps should be to keep our state connected. ... See MoreSee Less

Home - Arkansas State Broadband Office

broadband.arkansas.gov

New Opportunities For Arkansas Rural Connect Applicants: There is now $100M in CARES Act funding available for broadband deployment to qualified areas before December 30, 2020. Internet Service Provid...

Joe A. Cloud, MD - State Representative

Every year thousands of Americans die by suicide, leaving behind friends and family to navigate the tragedy of loss. In 2019, more than 500 Arkansans died by suicide.

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. This is a time to share resources and stories in an effort to shed light on this stigmatized topic.

In 2017, the legislature passed Act 811 which mandated that calls made from Arkansas to the National Suicide Prevention be operated by the Arkansas Department of Health. This has allowed callers in crises to be able to speak to someone who has a strong understanding of resources available nearby. There are an average of over 1,000 calls made to the lifeline each month.

In the 2019 Regular Session, the legislature passed Act 551 which requires the House Committee on Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs and the Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs to examine veteran issues within Arkansas, including the occurrence of suicide among the veteran population in Arkansas. The committees will file a written report with their findings and recommendations to Legislative Council by December 1.

This General Assembly also passed Act 962 which creates the offense of encouraging the suicide of another person and makes the offense a Class D felony.

No one organization or piece of legislation can tackle suicide prevention alone. To save lives, multiple systems must work in a coordinated way to reach those in suicidal crisis where they are.

If you are in crisis now, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Veterans can access the Veteran Crises line by calling the number and pressing 1.


Anyone can also text the crisis line by sending TALK to 741741, or chat online at www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat ... See MoreSee Less

Lifeline Chat

www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

Lifeline Chat is a service of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, connecting individuals with counselors for emotional support and other services via web chat. All chat centers in the Lifeline n...