Hood Code empowers youth living in NYC Housing Authority (NYCHA) through coding education — advancing equity and equality and aiming to improve their families’ socio-economic legacy.
Hood Code is a free after-school and summer program for youth in New York City public housing (NYCHA: New York City Housing Authority). Since July 2019, Hood Code has taught youth ages 8 – 18 to code using Scratch, a block-based language, and WoofJS, a combination of block-based and text-based coding. The result is a substantial increase in participants’ self-efficacy and technology-based skills.
Our focus is on investing in children who grow up in NYCHA because they represent one of the nation’s most underserved populations. Most live below the poverty line (the average annual income is $25,000 per family). They lack access to the educational resources necessary to overcome generational poverty, and elementary and middle schools in NYC do not offer courses or after-school programs in coding and web development.
With the goal of implementing programs in each of NYCHA’s 302 developments, Hood Code seeks to ensure that children from marginalized communities learn the digital skills necessary to participate in today’s society while simultaneously developing new ways of learning, problem-solving and positively contributing to the quality of life in our communities.