Ribbon Cut On New Computer Lab At Public Housing Development
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A ribbon was cut this Wednesday morning on at a South Side Chicago Housing Authority development for a new computer lab for residents.
As WBBM Newsradio's Bernie Tafoya reports, the technology center is at the Dearborn Homes on 29th and Dearborn streets, one of the few remaining developments in the old State Street public housing corridor.
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There are 28 computers, all with Internet access. Current or former residents have been hired to run the center and help residents take Internet classes, fill out job applications, learn how to write resumes and more.
Chicago city Chief Technology Officer John Tolva says not only does the center mean access to the Internet, "but also access to skills".
CHA director of community relations, Kristen Hamer says the lab "is primarily for educational purposes. It's not a lab where people will come in and be on Facebook or viewing YouTube videos all day".
Dearborn Homes resident Dorene Couch is excited about how much computers and the Internet being so available. She said she has never actually been on the Internet.
"It would be something new," Couch said, adding that she is willing to learn.
The computer lab at Dearborn Homes is one of seven planned for CHA developments in the next two years. A computer lab was first put in a CHA development in 2010 in Altgeld Gardens development at the southern edge of the city.
