Community Services Consortium’s Emergency Services Program and Information Technology department worked together to pass on donated computers to clients. Two families who received the donations came to our attention.
One young family moved to Oregon to care for a dying family member with promises of housing and employment. Unfortunately, after their family member died, they were left with no housing or job. The couple spent a cold winter with their toddler in a borrowed van which they parked on a street. They have since transitioned to CSC permanent housing with goals for self-sufficiency which include schooling for the mother in business management.
The father of the family is on disability and has new medical issues leaving the couple to worry about his ability to care for their child while the mother is in school. The donated computer makes a huge difference in their lives, by allowing the mother to stay at home, take on-line classes for her pre-requisite courses and monitor her husband’s health issues. It gives them both confidence they can move toward achieving their family goals.
A mother and daughter were the second household to receive a computer. They left a domestic violence situation to live with a family member, but moved to a local shelter when it didn’t work. After a referral, CSC found the mother’s achievement goals were a match for sustainable employment and a transition to permanent CSC housing.
Mother and daughter have been walking to the city library after school to work on the library computers for school work. Both their lives have been greatly improved after receiving a donated computer. They won’t be rushed by the library’s hour limit on computers, the daughter can complete her homework in an unhurried manner, and the mother can begin her
pre-requisite course work on-line at home before fall registration and the path toward her career goal.
CSC acknowledges the powerful impact the donated computers have had on these two households and many thanks are sent the donor’s way.
