Family Housing Center Gets $13,000 for Computers

The Los Angeles Family Housing Corp., a nonprofit organization that provides transitional housing to families, has received a grant of nearly $13,000 to expand its computer center.

The grant, from Team TECH Los Angeles, will be used for six computers and educational software at the group’s North Hollywood site, said Tracy Wallace, development director for the organization.

Team TECH Los Angeles, a project coordinated by United Way of Greater Los Angeles, IBM, Microsoft and AmeriCorps/VISTA, offers technology grants to youth-serving agencies.

The Lankershim Boulevard center, which opened late last year, will help nearly 200 children meet the demands of schools that put more emphasis on computer skills, Wallace said. For adults, the center provides training in job skills.

“It’s difficult for them to have access to computers, whether they’re adults or children,” Wallace said. “Most living-wage jobs require computer expertise. We want to help the adults to gain the knowledge and capability to go out and find jobs and support their families.”

Wallace said she hopes to obtain more funding for a computer instructor and additional computers.