(WXYZ) — In a warehouse inside Focus: Hope in Detroit, a small group of men and women are making grand strides to close the city’s digital gap.
“And I love the opportunity to explain how that actually happens," William Jefferson, Senior Operations Manager at Human-I-T said.
Human-I-T is an online store that offers Detroiters laptops, desktops, and tablets for as low as $50 per device, if not for free. They are also responsible for recycling, repurposing, and redistributing donated technologies back into the community.
“You know without technology you can't really do a whole lot,” Jefferson said.
According to Harvey Hollins, the Senior Manager for Strategic Partnerships at Human-I-T, around 200,000 residents in Detroit do not have a device or internet connectivity inside their homes.
“That means every 10 people that you see, three of those individuals are completely without technology and that’s a problem," he said.
So Human-I-T works to address that problem in a holistic way.
“Ideally, it’s a perfect working circle, right? Technology in the community is utilized to help the community. You’re done with it, you give it back to us. We repurpose it. Pass it down the line. Once the lifespan is over we make sure it gets destroyed the proper way—keeps it out the environment, and the cycle goes on and on and on,” Jefferson said.
Since Human-I-T's arrival to Detroit in 2019, Harvey Hollins says the business has distributed at least 75,000 computers back into the community.
They’ve also helped more than 7000 homes get connected to the internet.
“Anyone’s eligible to get a computer. We don’t ask income questions when we’re doing donations," he said. "Our target market however is 200% of the poverty line because that’s the hardest hit.”
Twins Andria and Andrea Garwood both received free computers from Human I-T right before heading to college.
“Overall the computers are fast working, they’re helpful. We’re able to get our assignments in on time," Andria Garwood said.
They even use their computer to help others overcome the digital divide.
“Sometimes I let my neighbors use it, like the kids, because they don’t have a computer so we let them use it for their assignments,” Andrea Garwood said.
By December of this year, Human-I-T plans on opening a storefront on 7 Mile and Livernois. Their goal is to give community members access to a reduced-price or free computer without having to wait for a donation day.
“I can’t stress this enough, the overall goal of all these different working parts is to close the digital divide," William Jefferson said. "There are over 75 million Americans alone without access to technology and to say that out loud sounds crazy. This is the United States of America."
In addition to closing the digital divide, the company is also committed to reducing e-waste. Last year, the company recycled 1 million pounds of it.
For more information on Human I-T or to learn how to access a discounted computer yourself, click here.
