Helpers update elderly for DTV switch

(NBC) - For elderly Americans who count on their television sets not just for entertainment but also for companionship, the digital switch is something many do not fully understand or fear will be too costly to afford. One Texas organization is doing its part to make sure when the switch happens, the elderly population will not be left in the dark.

Meals On Wheels volunteers normally deliver hot lunches, but Monday in Houston, they are serving up digital television. At 82, Nettie Tilley lives alone with only her TV for companionship.

"We're going to connect your converter box for you so that when the conversion happens, you're going to still be able to still see the TV," said a Meals On Wheels volunteer. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to have TV."

With a shortage of government DTV coupons to buy converter boxes, more than 30 churches in Houston asked their members to donate converter coupons to Interfaith Ministries , which runs the local Meals On Wheels program. The nonprofit group recognized early on that digital conversion would be complicated and costly for seniors on a fixed income.

"This was a bold step at a time when so many other things are going on that we could be doing, but we felt like it our responsibility to ensure that our clients who depend on their TV as a companion," said Bridget Samuel of Interfaith Ministries Houston. "Our driver and their TV, that's the only voices and noise that they hear on a daily basis, and we felt it was our responsibility to make sure they stay connected to what's going on in the community."

Volunteers have installed more than 1,000 converter boxes for people like Albert Thomas. Across the country, as many as 6 million homes may not be ready for digital television. They get their channels from an outdoor antenna or from rabbit ears connected to an old analog TV.

Yet, with the donated boxes and the time given by volunteers lonely seniors can still look to their TV as a companion and lifeline to the world.