Taking the Internet to the Streets
One organization that has a long history of helping the homeless in Australia is the Salvation Army. But if you think their approach is more about soup than the superhighway, one of their new programs might make you think again. The Salvo’s Oasis Youth Network is helping to bridge the technology divide by delivering a state of the art mobile internet connection to homeless youth in Sydney’s inner city. The vehicle for this new program is a mobile internet bus that will operate in areas where homeless and disconnected youth hang out. The “Streetnet” bus was launched yesterday by Family and Community Services Minister Kay Patterson, in the shadow of the notorious “wall” in Sydney’s Darlinghurst. She-Fah Szetu spoke with the Director of Oasis Youth Support Network Captain Paul Moulds, the CEO of Centrelink, Sue Vardon, and John Simons, a homeless person at the launch.