By Rita Weinstein, JTNews Correspondent
One man’s vision has turned into a major victory for local low-income seniors.
On June 4, the senior residential facility Council House and Felippe Jacques, a long-term resident, were awarded a $10,000 technology grant by the City of Seattle. The funds will support a groundbreaking neighborhood project.
With volunteers setting up internal wires and a wireless connection, the community technology project will give free Internet service, originating at Council House, to low-income seniors and families in Hilltop House and Kawabe Memorial House, two HUD-financed housing communities. The pilot project, led by Jacques, brings high-speed Internet access to computer training labs and apartments in the two facilities.
The story behind the award is Jacques’ vision. Two years ago, Cortland Communications, an Internet service provider, approached Council House seeking permission to construct a transmitter on their roof. The unique location of Council House, on the summit of Capital Hill, made it an ideal spot to broadcast signals for wireless Internet access. In return for use of the roof location, the administrative offices of Council House would receive free wireless service.
Jacques, who saw how Internet access could potentially enrich the lives of his neighbors, helped to negotiate an expansion of the arrangement to include free access to all of the residents. Many of the residents had never used computers, so with a smaller city grant and donated hardware, he created a computer lab in the building’s penthouse. With the help of a group called Seattle Wireless, he then began the process of hooking up individual apartments throughout the building.
The results were dramatic. Those who took advantage of the project very quickly realized that Internet access made their lives richer and fuller, changing feelings of isolation and depression into connection and engagement with the world.
Having proven that this stage of his vision was practical, Jacques decided to take his project further — by expanding wireless access to other low-income senior and multiifamily housing facilities in the area and thereby turning Council House into a de facto Internet Service Provider.
Then, several months ago, he contacted Mayor Greg Nickels’ office. The mayor was intrigued, and told Jacques to apply for the City of Seattle Telecommunications and Technology Grant.
The grant is a result of the Technology Matching Fund, which is funded by cable franchise fees and provides direct matching grants to organizations with programs that help increase community access to technology. Established in 1997, the Technology Matching Fund provides money to Seattle organizations and neighborhood groups for a broad array of citizen-driven technology literacy and access projects. Once a project is approved, the community’s contribution of volunteer labor, materials, professional services, or cash are “matched” by cash from the Technology Matching Fund. Funds are provided on a reimbursement basis.
This project is a joint effort between Cortland Communications, Seattle Wireless and Seattle Community Network.
Applications for the grant are evaluated by the Citizens Telecommunication and Technology Advisory Board, which allocates the funds. Harriet Wasserman, vice-chair of the board and IT Manager at Seattle Central Community College, was deeply involved in the evaluation of the Council House application. She and the other board members felt the application was “nicely finished, complete, and had a good work plan,” Wasserman said. “We also felt the technology was sound. An important element in the awarding of these grants is the sustainability of the project. Since plans for expansion were already included in the application, there was no question that it would be sustainable.”
Another important factor in the awarding of the grant was the existing, successful pilot project. The life-transforming effects of Internet access on seniors who had never before used computers made for testimonials that Mayor Nickels’ assistant Michael Mann described as “dramatic” and “wonderful.”
Here are a few:
• “I find urgent medical information I need for my health. I order books and magazines and can read others online. I listen to music. I keep up with the news throughout the States and in other countries. I can access information on every subject imaginable.”
• “The Internet has opened a new world to me. I can now, from the confines of my apartment, visit just about any place in the world… I cannot thank Council House folks enough…they have breathed new life into an otherwise tired old man.”
• “I hesitated to get involved in the computer lab. After several months, I took the bull by the horns and had a stab at it — its been wonderful for my mental health and physical well-being.”
The comments on the project impressed the Advisory Board with the potential it had to improve the quality of life for so many. In addition, according to Mann, “they felt it was a very impressive act of generosity by Felippe and Council House to extend the benefits of their extraordinary circumstances and good fortune [their relationship with Cortland] to others.”
The grant was the highest funded of the six approved.
The antennas have arrived, and implementation is scheduled to begin early this summer, and service should be up and running two months after that. The funds will be applied to buying two more receivers and antennas to be placed on Hilltop House and Kawabe Memorial House, which will benefit approximately 300 additional residents. The pilot project connecting Hilltop House and Kawabe Memorial House will run for three months.
Later, other HUD and Seattle Housing Authority buildings will be connected to the network. Other not-for-profit organizations such as community centers will also have access.
From the city’s perspective, this project could have citywide significance: the mayor would like to continue to work with it to see what more can be done with the model.
“In terms of public policy,” Mann said, “the project has the benefit of bridging the digital divide, not so much in just owning a computer, but also having access to high-speed, which is now so critical when you need to communicate.”