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1996,
the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban
Development began a nationwide
initiative toward the creation of
what they called
Neighborhood Networks,
centrally-located computer education
and job-training centers located in
or near housing properties.
That year, IGV received permission
to access Residual Receipts and
Reserve for Replacement Account
funds for the creation of The Grove
Neighborhood Network. Coupled with
funding partnerships with the
City of Greeley,
Employment Services of Weld
County, and a couple of private
grants, TGNN opened in January 1997 following
extensive canvassing of
IGV and area
residents, local
educators, elected
officials, and private business
concerns to determine such issues as
curriculum, staffing, computer lab
hours, and hardware and software
offerings.
Success quickly overcame TGNN’s
cramped but efficient facilities,
however, and the overwhelming
response to the lab’s many computers
resulted in crowded teaching
conditions and necessitated
immediate expansion to accommodate
additional clients coming from IGV’s
resident base, the neighborhood,
educational referrals, and another
HUD multifamily housing site nearby.
In other words, success was killing
us.
During late December 1997 and early
January 1998, TGNN was
uncharacteristically quiet while
undergoing expansion and upgrading
as the result of funds released by
HUD from Residual Receipts and
Reimbursement accounts. In
all, a whole bunch of craftsmen,
residents, IGV employees, and our
usual group of volunteers put their
heads and ideas together over coffee
and doughnuts and made our dream a
reality. TGNN's cramped
quarters were enlarged, additional
hardware and software was purchased,
as well as more furniture and a more
robust coffee pot.
Upon completion, and with much of
the hardware and software still on
order or waiting to be ordered,
client use of the lab increased
dramatically, with a substantial
number of referrals from other
educational institutions and
programs in the area, including
Aims
Community College,
Rodarte Center,
Right to Read, Weld County School
District 6, and numerous State,
County, and City support service
programs.
And it's been crazy every since,
with nearly 25,000 visits since the
lab opened, a cornucopia of programs
and schedules, and 60 GED graduates.
11/30/2016 |
