Austin Coming Together distributes 500 free computers

Austin Coming Together recently partnered with Comp-U-Dopt to provide 500 free computers to families on the West side. Photo courtesy of Austin Coming Together
Austin Coming Together recently partnered with Comp-U-Dopt to provide 500 free computers to families on the West side. Photo courtesy of Austin Coming Together

Austin Coming Together distributes 500 free computers

BY TIA CAROL JONES

Schools having to move to remote learning due to COVID-19 shed light on the gaps of households in relation to internet access, computers or the technology necessary for students to participate in their education.

As a way to decrease the number of families in the Austin community without computers in the home, Austin Coming Together recently partnered with Comp-U-Dopt to provide 500 free computers to families.

Darnell Shields, executive director of Austin Coming Together, said the computer distribution was part of a larger COVID-19 response strategy from the organization.

Shields said Austin Coming Together wanted to do something around the issue related to distance learning in order to support families with students who are attending school, either through CPS or through other educational institutions in the community.

He added the issue around the distance learning was that households either didn’t have a connection to the internet or to the devices and equipment used to access the internet. He said that while CPS did distribute computers to households on a temporary basis, there were still some students who were left out.

“There’s still an issue in the community around households being connected or having a permanent device within the home, as well as students that may not have been captured in CPS’ effort and programming,” he said. “So, our effort was really to try to address those gaps, and while on a smaller scale, we’re looking at this as a way to potentially become a model of how we can connect families.”

Comp-U-Dopt is a non-profit, based in Houston, Texas, and was founded in 2007. Its mission is to provide technology to students who need it the most. The organization refurbishes old computers and laptops. The organization, which recently expanded to more cities, then partners with community organizations to distribute the computers and laptops.

Shields said Comp-U-Dopt chose Austin because it has the largest void of households that are connected to the web and have the necessary equipment and devices to connect to the web.

Shields said the distribution took place during three days at the end of May. He said the outreach was done by his organization to make sure Austin residents would receive the computers through a lottery system. A “drive-up station” was set up in the parking lot at Michele Clark High School, which is also a partner.

Shields said it was exciting to be able to give back to Austin in this way. He grew up in the area and as a resident, directly experienced the challenges the community faces. “It’s been great to be in a position to help address those issues within my own community,” he said.

Shields is a father of two and one of them is in high school and had to adjust to distance learning. He said he knows the importance of students having access to equipment and to the internet. And, as a parent, making sure the student has the resources they need to participate in their education.

“We just see this as a small contribution of what we can do to try to help that effort and hoping we can do more,” he added. But more resources need to be available to residents in the community in order to address the “digital divide,” he said.

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