AUSTIN FREE-NET PROVIDES ACCESS FOR MANY TO INFORMATION HIGHWAY

by Linda S. Hayes

As the tidal wave of Internet resources swells ever higher, one group in danger of being left stranded is the poor, particularly the urban poor. Without resources to buy computers, and without access to the Internet, the poor risk falling increasingly farther behind the more advantaged in developing the skills needed to compete in today’s—and tomorrow’s—workplace.

To help stem this rising tide, computer-based community networks (CBCNs) are springing up around the country. CBCNs aim to give all segments of the population an opportunity to learn how to use computers and to access the infinite resources of the World Wide Web. Currently, about eighty CBCNs are up and running in the United States. One of the most successful is Austin Free-Net (AFN) in Austin, Texas.

Founded in 1995 with a mission "to provide every member of the Austin Community access, through public access sites, to the Internet/National Information Infrastructure by the year 2000," Austin Free-Net has put together a network of some seventy computer stations around the city, all with high-speed connectivity to the Internet. AFN’s home page posts the time and location of AFN’s free computer classes. It also has links to dozens of organizations that might be useful to area residents, including links to health, religious, and business organizations.

Many of the computer terminals are located in public libraries; others are in schools, community centers, even churches. One station is in a "neighborhood police center"—a community center sponsored by the city’s police force to improve the relationship between the police and local citizens. In addition to providing access to the Internet, the center conducts public education programs on crime prevention. AFN provides the computers and the training at all of its stations, frequently in partnership with other nonprofit organizations. Special emphasis is placed on addressing the needs of children and teenagers in low-income areas—to open up new vistas and new opportunities for them while putting them in touch with vital education and health services.

In September 1996, AFN was awarded a $250,000 grant by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce—one of sixty organizations selected from 800 applicants nationwide. AFN’s funding is supplied by a host of educational, civic, corporate, and philanthropic entities. Among the organizations working with AFN are the University of Texas, Austin Public Library, Literacy Austin, and the Austin Learning Academy.

Perhaps AFN’s most comprehensive outreach program is its East Austin 11th/12th Street Neighborhood Network. The 11th/12th Street neighborhood is one of Austin’s most impoverished areas, with a median annual income of only about $6,000; it is plagued by high unemployment, poor schools, drugs, gangs and violence. As part of the on-line Neighborhood Network, AFN compiles a calendar of events of interest to people in the community. The neighborhood Web site also has links to specific neighborhood support organizations, including job training programs and housing resources. To help foster a sense of pride in the community, the Web site also includes tour pages; a photo gallery; a neighborhood history link; people pages, which allow users to create their own home pages; and numerous maps. All of the information is available in English and Spanish.

Interestingly, note Gary Chapman and Lodis Rhodes, authors of "Nurturing Neighborhood Nets," published in MIT’s Technology Review, "The concept of geographic community is often much stronger and more tangible in low-income areas than in more affluent locales. Poor people spend more time in their own neighborhoods because they are less mobile. . . . In such communities, the Net would best serve to help cement the bonds that already exist, rather than to link individuals to a vast, faraway marketplace." To that end, increasing numbers of 11th/12th Street residents are using AFN terminals to communicate via e-mail with people in their community.

Sue Beckwith, the dynamic executive director of Austin Free-Net, views Internet access as a means to "break down the barrier of isolation" in low-income communities. Beckwith, formerly Information Systems Manager for the City of Austin, has managed technology projects since 1985. The overarching goal of AFN, she says, is "to provide a means and the tools for people to empower themselves. . . . By using the Internet, young people can explore possibilities for their lives while learning more about critical education, career, and health services needed by their families." The organization also aims to enhance the effectiveness of government by fostering greater public access and involvement in community decision making, to create a model system that other communities can apply, and to have fun while becoming computer savvy.

Is it working? The numbers speak for themselves. More than 12,000 Austinites log onto AFN’s computer network every month. Many have created their own Web pages. To find out for yourself what the buzz is about, you can access AFN at http://www.austinfree.net/.

For more information on articles in CUPReport, please contact Arlene Pashman, CUPReport Editor.