'Quietly left behind': Escaping a go-nowhere job in rural Washington County starts with speedy internet

Computer Reach, which employs 24 full and part-time employees and has an annual budget of $580,000, provides refurbished laptops and computer literacy training to people most in need. Richard King Mellon Foundation, PNC Foundation, Eden Hall Foundation, EQT Foundation, and Pittsburgh Foundation are among Computer Reach’s supporters. The need for laptops in poor areas far outstrips the availability of computers: social service agencies identified some 2,500 candidates for Computer Reach’s computers and digital help, but the nonprofit only has a three-year, $320,540 grant to cover 200 families in Washington County (PA). Rural Pennsylvania—including Washington, Fayette and Greene counties—has been aggressively trying to level the economic playing field with Pittsburgh and other urban neighbors by expanding broadband access for residents to increase job and other opportunities. Washington County Commissioners, for example, committed $30 million in federal funding 18 months ago for a variety of fiber line projects that will eventually bring the internet to every home. To fill the gap Washington County will seek grants from Pennsylvania’s share of the $42.45 billion federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.