KEYSPOT highlight: a look at computer resource Families First Center in West Philadelphia

Lorelei Shingledecker is the manager for the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program at the People’s Emergency Center in Powelton Village.

The city’s KEYSPOT program continues to serve low-income communities in Philadelphia with free resources from access to the Internet for job searching to class sessions that teach resume building. KEYSPOT is the broadband stimulus-funded initiative from the Freedom Rings Partnership.

Another of the 76 KEYSPOT locations is the Families First Center located at 3939 Warren St. in West Philadelphia’s Powelton Village. Persons serviced at the Families Center can access multiple computer services called the Center for Digital Inclusion and Technology (CDIT).

The Families Center is a part of the People’s Emergency Center complex that has partnered with KEYSPOT to build more CDITs in other neighborhoods with funding provided by the City of Philadelphia, the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation and Comcast.

Hamidou Traore is a computer instructor at the Center for Employment and Training operated by the People’s Emergency Center. Traore trains individuals on job skills, how to search for jobs and how to prepare for job interviews.

“Life is changing. Technology is taking place in different sectors in our companies, in our everyday lives, so we have to train them to face those transitions to a new technology. That is where our lives are going,” Traore said.

With computer services available in places like the People’s Emergency Center and other KEYSPOT locations, individuals have access to classrooms that teach computer and job skills necessary for navigating the current job marketplace.