Re-abled. Workers And Computers Aid Communities And Families
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Searching for a win-win plan to employ disabled people, The HandyCapable Network in North Carolina trains disabled workers to refurbish computers donated by both businesses and individuals. The computers then go to one of 20 computer learning centers in eight counties, or to low-income families, families with a disabled member or senior citizens.
HandyCapable also is able to design computer centers, install and set up computers and software, and in some cases help organizations develop curriculum.
The organization accepts donations of all parts of computer systems, plus legally licensed software, to be able to provide a computer that is ready to go when “adopted” into the community. Computers ready for adoption include monitors, modems, speakers and some basic software. Refurbished computer setups are available for free when possible, or at an average price of $200. Donated printers are sometimes available.
Because it is a Microsoft Certified Refurbisher, HandyCapable can include licensed Windows operating systems on each computer. Its web site also provides a list of free software, including sites with programs for the disabled, basic reading and math skills, and training for the General Educational Development (GED) high school equivalency diploma test, as well as free antivirus and other computer protection programs.
Partnerships with local schools link families to refurbished computers.
Here’s one story about how a computer helped a low-income family: “The computer has changed my whole family’s life, scholastically, socially and economically. My grandson is learning his letters, my sons have found jobs online, I am going to paralegal school online and my sister and I are looking into opening an online business.”
Many HandyCapable computers are in local Lifespan programs that provide computer, education, life skills and employment training. Guilford Technical Community College partnered with Lifespan to develop an online training program designed to help mentally retarded adults learn everyday life skills so they can reach their maximum abilities to be independent and self-directed.
It all started in 2001, when the Associations for Retarded Citizen for Housing Development Inc. (ARC/HDS) provided initial funding to set up four computer learning centers in the Greensboro area for developmentally disabled individuals. As HandyCapable grew, it was able to expand its mission to train and employ workers with many other kinds of disabilities.
Another positive is recycling computer hardware that might otherwise end up in local landfills where they can contaminate soil or water supplies, or sent to third world countries where workers, including children, remove the recyclable materials without the protective gear that should be used. A monitor alone contains three to nine pounds of lead, and circuit boards contain materials that have been determined to be carcinogens and toxins by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).The EPA estimates that only 11 percent of computer hardware is recycled or reused.