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Low-income residents in FSU program get new computers [The Fayetteville Observer, N.C.]
(Fayetteville Observer (NC) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 24--Finding work as an administrative assistant has been hard for Thomasina Johnson.
She was a temporary worker who lost her job to the tanking economy and who over the past year has found her resumes answered with silence, said Johnson, 46.
Meanwhile, she's been collecting unemployment but working to improve her prospects at Fayetteville State University's Community Computing and Learning Center.
Over the past couple months, she's brushed up on Microsoft Office, resume writing and other skills she hopes will help her re-enter the workforce.
"I never thought it would get this bad," Johnson said. " I never would have thought that I would be out of a job this long. So I'm having to redo my resume, rethink my skills, put it out in a different way."
Now she's gotten a new tool to help with that.
Johnson was one of 15 people who received Dell Inspiron netbooks as part of a program to help educate low-income people on computer skills.
She received her computer Tuesday evening at the Community Computing and Learning Center, and she plans to use it to help with her job search.
"I'm just (getting) basic necessities, just getting by with family help, so this is a huge help for me now to just get back on my feet again," Johnson said.
The computers were available to tenants of the Fayetteville Housing Authority who successfully completed 10 classes provided at the computer lab, including basic computer skills, resume writing, Microsoft Office and landlord and tenant rights.
The center's staff selected the recipients based on applications they submitted demonstrating their need, said Brittany Fuller, administrative manager of the computer lab.
"We see these people every day and we know the need that they have," Fuller said. "They bring their children here, and we know that they don't have a computer at home. They do come into our center regularly. We know that they have a need for the computer and that it's not just someone trying to get over on us and pawn the computer later on."
The center, at Bronco Square, is open daily to members of the public, Fuller said.
The cost of the computers was covered by a federal grant funding the center for the next three years, she said.
Another recipient of a netbook, Vera McKinnie, 50, said the program has helped her brush up on Microsoft Office software for her job in medical records at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, as well as for church functions.
"All this is going to help me with the job that I (do) every day," McKinnie said. "This has been a pretty good program."
Staff writer James Halpin can be contacted at halpinj@fayobserver.com or 486-3509.
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(c)2011 The Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, N.C.)
Visit The Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, N.C.) at www.fayobserver.com
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