Tucked away in the red-brick community center of the South Jamaica Houses in New York City is a small multipurpose room filled with plastic chairs and tables. A piece of paper taped on the door shows the schedule for the day, with Hood Code starting at 3 p.m.
Right on time, the quiet room fills with giggles and sneaker squeaks as children pile into the space, each one excitedly talking over the other.
Hood Code is an organization that provides free coding classes to students who live in New York City’s public housing. These apartments are home to more than half a million low-income families and individuals, and 25% of them are under the age of 18.
