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Chattanooga Coalition Tackling Internet Access, Devices, and Healthcare in Neighborhood Project
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A recently announced $610,000 grant award from the Tennessee Valley Authority to a partnership in Chattanooga, Tennessee will fund a pilot project to fund a set of holistic interventions in the Orchard Knob neighborhood to create healthier, more cost-efficient, better-connected homes for 1,000 residents.
The initiative, driven by a coalition made up of the Enterprise Center, EPB Fiber, Parkridge Health System, Habitat for Humanity, Tech Goes Home, and the Orchard Knob Neighborhood Association, aims to tackling an array of social determinants of health all at once. From The Chattanoogan:
Together, the partners plan to simultaneously invest in infrastructure and test new strategies for improving social determinants of health and quality of life of residents within a historically underserved neighborhood. Ultimately, the program in Orchard Knob will serve as a model for other communities across the Tennessee Valley.
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It's happening as a result of funds contributed by the TVA's Connected Communities initiative, which aims to help "communities within the Valley leverage tech- and data-driven solutions to improve residents’ lives, deliver environmental benefits and scale economic opportunities." So far, these include projects like outfitting the Cheatham County School District with a solar array and battery backup, technology upgrades at more than a dozen Knoxville Recreation Centers, and improved connectivity at public housing sites in Murfreesboro.
Neighborhood-wide Wi-Fi will be installed, resident's homes will be retrofitted with upgraded HVAC systems and energy efficiency upgrades, EPB's fast and reliable Internet service will be extended, devices and digital literacy training will be given out, and 1,0000 telehealth visits will be scheduled all in the hopes of improving outcomes there.
Orchard Knob is a predominantly Black community with a much higher population density, lower median household income, lower home ownership rates, and older homes. The TVA grant will be matched by more than $260,000 in local funds to make the effort work.
Read more about the Orchard Knob project here, and the types of interventions being undertaken as part of the Connected Communities initiative.
Header image from Orchard Knob facebook page
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