Computer Literacy on the Move program axed

BY NADINE ARMSTRONG

The Hants Journal

NovaNewsNow.com

Computer Literacy on the Move will not herald the New Year on a happy note. After a successful eight-year run, the non-profit program, which provides free basic computer training and Internet access to residents of Hants County, had its funding cut.

Sandra Milbury, Coordinator for the West Hants Community Health Board, met with Paul Innes of Service Canada Dec. 5 in hopes of having the contract renewed for another year. Instead, Innes informed her the program no longer met the federal government’s mandate for providing employment-related services, effectively putting an end to the program and five people out of work.

Milbury said she literally staggered out of the meeting after receiving the news. “I was sick to my stomach that we've lost such a service for our community. I feel like I've lost my 'baby'.”

CLOM was the brainchild of Milbury and Community Services staff person Trudy Lake, who saw the need for accessible computer training in the community. The program, a project of the Hants Learning Network Association was created to bridge the technology gap in rural areas by proving accessible high-speed Internet service and one-on-one computer tutorials.

Through funding from Service Canada two base sites - one at the Hants Community Hospital in Windsor and another in Noel - were created. The program also supplied staff with mobile units that allowed them to provide in-home computer training for seniors or those without access to transportation.

Although the program’s mandate was literacy enhancement, in order to meet funding criteria set out by Service Canada, employment-related services became a significant focus. Clients and visitors to the sites could receive assistance with resume and cover letter-writing, online job searches and free resume faxing. The service targeted specific populations that included: at risk youth; low literacy learners; seniors; unemployed or underemployed; and persons with disabilities.

Deemed a duplication of services

However, with the creation of various federally funded employment resource centres over the past few years, Service Canada now says CLOM is a duplication of services they can no longer afford. “They're streamlining, like everyone else,” Milbury said. “Our contract was up in October and they gave us a three-month extension, but we've known for the past three years we'd need to twig the application in order to meet the criteria.”

That being said, CLOM statistics show success in the mandated areas. Over 102 clients in West Hants and 62 in East Hants have found employment through the program. The Windsor site has assisted with 1,179 job searches, helped to create 237 resumes and partnered to host 848 employment-related workshops.

In East Hants, the numbers are equally as significant, with 855 job searches and 363 resumes, not to mention the almost 20,000 visits to the website since its creation.

But these figures are little consolation to CLOM administrators and their many partners. They see the program as an essential component to the community. “It does so much more,” Milbury said. “Its creation was never intended as a employment resource, but a community resource.” And there's a gap she says will continue to exist for people who don't have access to a computer or the knowledge to use one. ‘Something so badly needed’

Site facilitator Barb Beck said she was very discouraged when she heard the news. “I just hate to see something that is needed so badly gone,” she said. “They don't understand what they’re cutting.”

Beck has been at the Windsor site since its inception and has seen first-hand just how important the service is. “There are so many people who come here because they can't afford their own computer or don't have a clue where to start,” she said. And staff like Beck is there to teach them the basics for free. “Most people just can't afford to take an expensive course,” she said.

Having been computer 'illiterate' herself at one point, Beck says she understands where clients are coming from. “I can empathize and relate to how hard it is to learn something totally foreign.”

She said there’s a real sense of pride and satisfaction for clients as they progress. “It's wonderful when you see somebody who thought it was hopeless being able to e-mail their families or search the web.”

Milbury said the Capital Health Board would continue to fund computer literacy for seniors “if they had the staff.” Other Learning Network programs such as the Levels Classes funded by the Department of Education will not be affected by the cut.

In the interim, both sites will remain open when possible and manned by volunteers, but in-home assistance, one of the crucial elements, will be missing. Milbury recommends anyone interested in using the site call ahead first at 798-0729.