WiFi for All NYC Family Shelters: Our Response

As an organization that offers services to thousands of vulnerable children and families, we applaud New York City's recent decision to provide WiFi to all of the city's family and domestic violence shelters. We know that education is one of the keys to breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty and homelessness, and access to reliable WiFi is critical to school-aged children who not only call transitional housing home, but are also attending school remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The past year has cast a harsh light on the divide that has long separated the digital "haves" from the digital "have-nots" in our communities. But the crisis has also shown the business community, the media, and government officials that when we work together for the greater good, we can offer our children—all of our children—equal opportunity to learn, thrive, and succeed.

Volunteers of America-Greater New York is proud to have had a hand in this long overdue effort to ensure that the most vulnerable New Yorkers have access to a tool for living in the 21st century that so many of us take for granted: safe and secure access to the internet.

Thank you for joining us in this effort.

Myung J. Lee
President & CEO, Volunteers of America–Greater New York

Learn more about our housing and domestic violence services for families.