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300 free computers and 150 hotspots helping Austinites get online

The computers were donated by the City of Austin and the hotspots were given out by Mobile Beacon -- all to people 200% or more below the poverty line.

Hundreds of low income Austinites were connected to the internet at the El Buen Samaritano Episcopal Mission on Friday.

For some of them, it was the first time having access to computers and internet service.

The program, "Bridging the Gap," was hosted by PC's for People, Mobile Beacon, El Buen Samaritano, Foundation Communities, The Literacy Coalition of Central Texas, Community Technology Network and the City of Austin.

The computers were donated by the City of Austin and the hotspots were given out by Mobile Beacon -- all to people 200 percent or more below the poverty line.

"Computers are out there, they're available," the Family Lit. Manager for El Bueno, Karen Green said. "But we don't have the manpower without something like this kind of event to put them in a space where people can actually use them."

"Everyone needs access and you need it for everything," Jessica Looney, the Austin Program Director for Community Technology Network said. "There's no way to actually live in the world today without the internet."

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