File it under “Why the heck doesn’t everyone do this,” but the local Habitat for Humanity folks deserve a huge pat on the back.
So too do municipal officials, and the organizations partnered up to provide families in need with used computers.
Access to the Internet is something most of us take for granted, whether we are at work, at home or on our smartphones.
But for the less fortunate, that access is often not here. Internet use numbers from Statistics Canada shows a digital divide between higher income and lower income households. Only 62% of Canadian households with an income under $30,000 use the Internet.
Six long years ago, the United Nations declared access to the Internet as a human right. It’s hard to access the information superhighway without a computer.
Enter Habitat for Humanity Chatham-Kent and the municipality. The municipality, during its lifecycle replacement process for its computers, will wipe old units clean of information and send the computers to HFHC-K, where the units are reconditioned and prepped for folks in need.
Over the past year, HFHC-K has distributed 80 computers on a referral basis primarily with Ontario Works. It’s been so successful, the municipality and HFHC-K will continue with this agreement for at least another two years.
It’s also so successful that it’s garnered national attention. The program earned a national Sustainable Funding Award at a conference in British Columbia recently.
An award for common sense. Go figure.
This partnership keeps computer parts from heading into the landfill, and instead puts them in the hands of people who really need a computer. It’s good for the environment and great for providing a hand up for folks who most need it.
It could be as simple as helping a person apply for a job, or get one to work from home via their new-to-them computer. Or it could be to help a child with his or her homework, setting the stage for them to go onto post-secondary education and become a key contributor to our society.
And it’s all due to common sense and simple partnership.
Well done, HFHC-K and municipal staff.
