“Downtown Vancouver drop-in centre gets free Wi-Fi
Patrons at a downtown Vancouver drop-in centre are giving the city a double thumbs up for providing free Wi-Fi access in a safe, warm environment where they can charge their phones.
Free Internet is officially available at the Gathering Place Community Centre, a space for vulnerable people, many of them middle aged men, to get a meal, a shower or do laundry.
“It’s a big deal,” centre manager Jo-Ann Stevens said. “Connectivity is not a luxury.”
During Wednesday’s lunch break, many visitors were hunkered down over their screens near plug-ins, charging their phones while surfing the web. It’s been like that since the signal turned on Monday as part of the city’s initiative with Telus to provide Internet at more than 40 public facilities, Stevens said.
Internet connection is crucial for a range of activities including signing up for social housing, finding a job or applying for welfare, she noted. It helps address the digital divide between people who can and can’t afford home Internet, pricy mobile plans or even the cost of a coffee to get free Wi-Fi at the local coffee shop.
“Free access levels the playing field,” Stevens said, especially considering everyone spends so much time staring at screens these days.
There’s a perception that vulnerable populations don’t have Internet-equipped phones, but Stevens said that’s not necessarily the case since older models are cheap or given away for free. Many youth that need social supports may be coming from homes where they already had smartphones.
The Gathering Place is thrilled it’s one of the first places to get free Wi-Fi, as it shows the city is serious about its promise to make the Internet available to vulnerable populations. (The Carnegie in the Downtown Eastside is also on the list.) Eventually, the organizations hope to use social media to communicate information such as where shelter beds are available.
Several hundred people visit the Gathering Place daily. It serves about 400 low-cost meals daily, offers an adult learning centre through the Vancouver School Board and runs a variety of arts and fitness programs. About 250 people, many who first got involved as visitors, participate in the centre’s extensive volunteer program
CYBER-POIESIS 