Press Releases
Date: March 20, 2003
Release Date: Immediately
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Reba V. Hicks
Public Information Officer
(856) 968-2748
rhicks@camdenhousing.org
"THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF CAMDEN ANNOUNCES
OPENING OF NEIGHBORHOOD NETWORK CENTER"
The Housing Authority of the City of Camden (HACC) announces the
opening of its Neighborhood Network Center on Monday, March 24, 2003,
located at 1300 Admiral Wilson Boulevard, Camden, NJ 08102.
Through the R.O.S.S. Grant ( Resident Opportunity and
Self-Sufficiency) Neighborhood Network funds in the amount of
$250,000.00, the HACC will use computer technology to provide
programming that reflects the needs, interests, and abilities of
public housing residents. Twenty-one students are expected to begin
Monday with a goal of recruiting seventy-five residents this year. The
grant provides computer technology opportunities for 150 residents
over three years and courses are broken down into 13 week intervals.
The HACC currently operates the Success Learning Center, a New Jersey
State Chapter 531 certified educational service facility. Through the
SLC, various educational programs qualify our center to provide
training in partnership with Welfare-to-Work and Workforce Development
initiatives. The SLC is part of the Camden City Adult Basic
Educational Consortium, which administers for our area the only
available Adult Basic Skills Grant provided by the State of New
Jersey.
The HACC's goal is to develop a multi-service Computer Technology
Center (CTC) that will increase the current levels of computer
technology usage to reduce welfare dependency through increased
educational levels and opportunities for job development; and promote
economic self-sufficiency through a holistic approach to addressing
the barriers that affect public housing residents. The CTC will
augment and expand the services provided through the SLC and enable
our organization to establish the first Neighborhood Network Center in
the City of Camden.
The Neighborhood Network funds will be utilized to purchase twenty
additional workstations to increase the capacity of the current
training programs and provide public housing residents with accessible
computer technology opportunities. The mission of the CTC is to
operate as the hub for the Neighborhood Network center with five
satellite sites at the Public housing community centers that provide
additional services.
Dr. Maria Marquez, Executive Director, stated "providing our
residents with computer skills and the goal of becoming a major
computer network hub in the city of Camden will more enable our
residents to gain further marketable skills, becoming more competitive
in the job market. Throughout the many educational services we
provide, we are indeed assisting residents and the city of Camden in
providing sources to reach economic opportunities."
MISSION STATEMENT
"TO PROMOTE ADEQUATE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING, ECONOMIC
OPPORTUNITY, AND A SUITABLE LIVING ENVIRONMENT FREE FROM
DISCRIMINATION"