Power to the people

For Vakil Kuner, the work involved in setting up and tearing down a secure wireless network to support more than two dozen government agencies and private organizations for a single day is well worth it.

Kuner, IT director for San Francisco's Department of Human Services (DHS), leads a team of technology pros that lays the foundation for the city and county to help the homeless. "We're reaching people that otherwise can't be reached," he says.

San Francisco is one of several U.S. cities, including Chicago and New York, using wireless and other network technologies to empower homeless and low-income people and link them to critical services.

In San Francisco, the DHS invites the homeless to a bimonthly, one-day event it calls Project Homeless Connect. The DHS sets up a wireless LAN (WLAN) at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, then provides representatives from about 30 government agencies and private organizations with VPN connectivity to its departmental applications and databases. The 1,000 or so homeless who attend the event get real-time access to services such as low-cost housing, substance abuse and mental health counseling, legal aid and food stamps.

The DHS pulls together Project Homeless Connect on a shoestring. "We have no budget due to the fiscal environment," Kuner says.

While his team now has a cookie-cutter approach to setting up the event, which launched in October 2004, it must borrow a host of technology from assorted city and county agencies. "We do laptop roundups before each event," he says.

The WLAN, which the team sets up and takes down within 48 hours, comprises IBM and HP laptops equipped with wireless cards, Linksys wireless routers and HP printers. Cisco gear powers the IP Security VPN.

"There are constant technical challenges, but it's all worth it," Kuner says.

Wiring Chicago rooftops

In Chicago, an organization called Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) is using wireless connections to provide Internet access to families in low-income neighborhoods. Through the project, called Wireless Community Network, CNT is creating a rooftop network of wireless repeater nodes for more than 800 households in four neighborhoods.

"The Wireless Community Network is a tool to get people better information, especially people who don't have access to advanced telecommunications," says Nicole Friedman, CNT project manager. "Our users can't afford to pay for DSL or cable modem service, and some have never had contact with a computer."

Using money from a patchwork quilt of public and private programs, the CNT has connected about 400 households since receiving its first project funding in late 2003. It gathers retired computers from corporations and individuals to distribute to residents who don't have their own PCs.

The rooftop network, powered by Metrix Communications, comprises WLAN nodes with antennae, routers and radios. Buildings hooking into the nodes put up a hodgepodge of wireless access points, and users can access the network via their WLAN cards.