NerdStreetGamers, an organisation aiming to bring esports to everyone, has partnered with Jefferson Health’s Center for Autism and Neurodiversity to offer esports training to kids who might not have had the opportunity in the past.
The partnership comes as NerdStreetGamers’ announced its latest – and biggest – esports training centre in Philadelphia. Rather than being known as a training centre like their other esports venues, their latest venture The Block is described as an esports industry campus.
As well as hosting esports training sessions for schools and teams in the area, the 20,000 square-foot facility will contain broadcast studios and educational spaces. The Block will offer low-cost entry to the very best equipment and boast some of the best internet speeds in the city. Hopefully, this will allow kids who couldn’t afford the latest consoles or didn’t have the fastest internet connection an opportunity to get into esports and pursue a career in playing, casting, or making games.
NerdStreetGamers CEO John Fazio believes the campus will help the industry to grow, as well as “increasing access to opportunities” for all young people in the area. Prices for training and use of the facilities haven’t been announced yet, but hopefully, it will be affordable for children from low-income families who wouldn’t ordinarily be able to play these games or train in these niche disciplines.
Director of Jefferson Health’s Center for Autism and Neurodiversity, Wendy Ross, says the partnership will “empower” and “showcase the strengths” of people with autism. She hopes that esports as a whole will provide great opportunities for people with autism in both a social and professional manner.
The partnership makes an important statement that every gamer should be afforded the same opportunities, and NerdStreetGamers is launching unspecified “programs and initiatives” to include more people with autism in their esports projects.
The company clearly committed to diversifying the esports scene with its previous partnership with TechGirlz, a non-profit organisation which helps young girls pursue careers in tech. Hopefully, both partnerships will be a success, and the esports scene will become a more diverse and welcoming space for people of all backgrounds, genders, and abilities.
