(8/23/97 Baltimore AFRO-American Newspaper)
by Congressman Elijah E. Cummings
A few months ago, a young woman named Sarah came to my office on Druid Park Drive in search of a job. A member of my staff met with her and talked about the type of work Sarah was looking for. Due to some personal problems, Sarah did not graduate from high school and had not held down a steady job in almost three years. She had two children and the financial assistance she had been receiving from the state had been cut by more than half as a result of the new welfare regulations.
As we began to look for ways to help Sarah, it became clear that with the low level of skills she possessed, it was going to be a difficult task placing her in a job with a livable wage. Sarah recognized that if she was going to turn her situation around, she had to make some serious changes in her life. She went to the library and checked out a book on typing and borrowed a friend’s manual typewriter. This determined mother dropped by our office periodically to keep us updated on her progress. She said she had been practicing "until her fingers became too sore to continue."
We helped Sarah put her resume together, walked her through several practice interviews and arranged for her to be tested by an employment agency. Earlier this week, with a bright smile on her face and a new attitude in her heart, Sarah began her job as a receptionist at a non-profit organization in her neighborhood. It is success stories like these which make my job very rewarding.
There are thousands of people like Sarah throughout Baltimore. Men and women who, for a variety of reasons, have found themselves unskilled, unemployed, or underemployed. Too often they drop out of life and settle at the bottom of our community’s socio-economic ladder. Sarah and countless other people I have personally met and talked with have proven to me that life doesn’t have to be that way. Sarah looked deep in her heart and discovered the motivation to change the difficult circumstances she found herself in. The journey to success began for her with a simple step forward.
This Saturday, August 23, 1997, the Baltimore Urban League will once again christen a program to uplift the lives and empower the people of our community. The Urban League joined forces with my Congressional office and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to bring a Neighborhood Networks computer learning center to Baltimore. Working in partnership with the Housing Authority of Baltimore City, the Maryland State HUD office, and Rev. Russell Groves and the members of the Canaan Baptist Church, this Saturday we will open the doors to the Communities United Technology and Development Center.
HUD’s Neighborhood Networks program was developed to open computer centers around the country which provide educational, informational, and employment opportunities to residents of public and privately-owned rental properties.
Our new center will be housed at the Urban League headquarters on Orchard Street and will serve the residents of Orchard Mews and McCulloh Homes, and the clients of the Urban League’s Work Focus 2000 welfare-to-work initiative.
This state-of-the-art facility will offer classes on how to find jobs, market your job skills, and effectively interview with potential employers. There will be basic, intermediate, and advanced computer courses and after-school programs for young people. Many of the residents are already making plans to use the skills they learn at the center to open small businesses and give back to their community.
The center will be staffed by a VISTA volunteer, residents from the community, and students from several Baltimore colleges. Computers were purchased for the program through a grant provided by the Knott Foundation, with additional computers and software being donated by HUD and United Parcel Services (UPS).
Baltimore Urban League Executive Director Roger Lyons said, "This is an historic day because the people in this neighborhood have put aside their differences in order for their community to become better. They understand that the future is about computer technology and quality education. What our residents learn at this center will change their lives forever."
In my 15 years in public service, I have worked with groups like the Urban League, the Riker McKenzie Human Development Center, and the Baltimore Branch of the NAACP, to create programs that help people realize their full potential. This center will go a long way in providing the skilled workforce needed to keep businesses in Baltimore and to create an environment for new business creation.
I have been pleased to work with Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke and Linda Harris, the Director of Mayor Schmoke's Office of Employment Development, and Roger Lyons to develop innovative and creative community partnerships which are the key ingredient to seeing our neighborhoods thrive and flourish again.
I believe that my role in the United States Congress is to be the man in the middle. Making initiatives like HUD’s Neighborhood Networks program available to people like Sarah, who simply wanted to be the best that she could be, gives us the ability to change people’s lives forever.
The Communities United Technology & Development Center will open on Saturday, August 23, 1997 from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. at the Baltimore Urban League at 512 Orchard Street. For additional information: (410) 523-8150.
-The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings represents the 7th Congressional District of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives.