FOR KIDS, SOMEWHERE TO GO

(Article published in HWW May 2009)

At HELP New Horizon, an HPD family shelter in Brooklyn, the Intel Computer Clubhouse looks both hi-tech and laid back. One room is full of computers donated by Intel Corp. as part of its international clubhouse network. A separate room has sound recording equipment. A huge green oblong table gives kids space to do their homework. Boys and girls of all ages wander in after school, both from the shelter and from the neighborhood.

One boy, age 12, is writing a screen play. Another has just finished making a CD of his own musical composition.

“We go on field trips, too, to basketball games and museums --We’re open all day in summer,” says Miguel Cruz who with Shawn Jordan manages the clubhouse. “It gives the kids somewhere to come where they feel comfortable rather than on the street.”