100 laptops will get formerly unhoused online for job search
December 26, 2023
Published by Portland Press Herald | By Dennis Hoey
Computers and internet access will be loaned out in a collaborative project aimed at overcoming a key obstacle to employment.
Two Portland organizations are working to combat one of the challenges faced by formerly unhoused people who are looking for work – a lack of internet and computer access.
The Quality Housing Coalition and the Greater Portland Council of Governments plan to distribute 100 refurbished laptops to people who are enrolled in the coalition’s Project Home to Profession program, which secures permanent housing for homeless people and provides them with employment services.
“Almost all job applications and opportunities are online,” said Clara McCool, who manages GPCOG’s Regional Broadband Program, which is funding the laptop project through the Maine Connectivity Authority.
The Maine Association for Public Interest Law (MAPIL) auction is a time honored Maine Law tradition, one that has been going strong for 37 years. An integral part of this tradition is also the presentation of the Excellence in Public Service Award, conferred to a Maine Law alum who has dedicated their career to lawyering in the public interest. This year’s recipient, Victoria Morales ‘05, currently serves as Executive Director of Quality Housing Coalition, a Maine-based nonprofit devoted to tackling the many facets of the affordable housing crisis in the state
For the last four years, the authority has been circulating 17 housing vouchers for young people aging out of foster care. Now they are getting an additional 13.
More than 1,500 are queued up, hoping to receive up to $800 a month in rent relief and a one-time payment to catch up on back rent.
Maine Calling
