Indeed, this project is expected to help residents empower themselves and provide for more opportunities both economically and socially. In order to participate in the program, residents had to take a two-hour survey to help determine the best way to integrate the Internet into the residents' lives. We are studying, through this project, the effects of this technology and if it will allow for increased social connections within the community. At the moment, participating residents are in an eight-week training program which began in the beginning of September. At the end of the training program, residents will have to pass a test to demonstrate their knowledge of maintenance and applications of a computer.
Residents attend ninety minute classes twice a week.
These classes meet Monday through Thursday and on Saturday at various times in order to accommodate everyone's schedules. The instructors are all volunteers. We want to build both the physical and the intellectual infrastructure. Several organizations are supporting this project, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Hewlett-Packard, RCN Telecom Services, Microsoft Corporation, and YouthBuild Boston. Hewlett-Packard donated the computers that will soon be in the residents' homes and RCN Telecom Services is providing the Internet connections.