Computers Help Close a Gap : Housing project center gives users equal information opportunity

Few would deny the possibilities computers can unlock. But a family struggling to put food on the table, or to buy new shoes for the kids, is unlikely to shell out $2,000 for a home computer. It’s a disparity that leaves thousands locked out of the digital revolution. That’s why the opening of a computer center at the San Fernando Gardens housing project in Pacoima last week is particularly encouraging.

The center, opened with money from the federal Housing and Urban Development department, provides the complex’s 1,900 residents with access to seven top-notch computers with CD-ROM drives--and eventual access to the Internet--as well as two printers. Later this year, six other public housing projects across Los Angeles will be outfitted with similar facilities, which are scheduled to offer everything from classes in basic typing and English instruction to more advanced training in business programs and the Internet.

Hailed for their power to equalize access to information and opportunity, computers have just as much potential to widen the gulf between a techno-literate middle class and poorer families who put fancy electronics at the bottom of their list of staples. Understanding how to use a computer is fast becoming as important as knowing how to read, as more and more political and commercial discourse takes place in electronic forums and as more and more business functions are digitized. Those without skills and access are likely to be left behind.

Granted, many children in San Fernando Gardens already have access to computers through school. But some studies have estimated that as many as 86% of computers in classrooms are outdated, often donated by companies or individuals modernizing their own systems. And aside from their tangible benefits of helping kids solve a math problem or of teaching adults to run a spreadsheet, the computers at San Fernando Gardens bring a special sense of pride to a place where often there is precious little to be proud of. They show that public housing need not be squalid or hopeless and they offer an alternative to hanging out or running with a gang.

Six computers are a modest start, but they offer a glimpse of the future--and access to a world of opportunity--to hundreds of families. Perhaps the next software tycoon is spending this weekend in front of a new computer at San Fernando Gardens chasing Big Bird with his mouse.