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Case Example: Technology Boost Job Training
Jobs and job training: That's what a public-housing tenants coalition wanted when it asked MFY Legal Services, Inc., for representation. The tenants knew that, outside of New York, people were using a little-known section of the Public Housing Law that requires contractors to try to provide jobs and job training to low-income residents. The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), however, was not utilizing the law on behalf of its 500,000 tenants. When asked by MFY to help, clinic students created a secure website containing the applicable law, investigated NYCHA documentation under subpoena, and contacted tenant groups elsewhere to gain a national perspective. They found that NYCHA lagged far behind other cities in creating jobs for its residents. In one year alone, NYCHA had awarded more than $30,000,000 to contractors who had shown no effort to comply with the law. Students marshaled their findings using digital presentation software and testified at a New York City Council hearing. They not only captured the council's attention, but helped the MFY attorneys and tenant groups to re-envision the way they collect, manage, and share information.
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