In its recently approved 2006 budget, the New York City Council granted national nonprofit One Economy Corp. $110,000 to create localized "Beehives on the Web" for each Community Board District. These multilingual Web sites will include advice and action items to help users find jobs, manage money, get healthy, locate childcare, get homework help for their kids and much more. The neighborhood Beehives also will include community event calendars and will link to each district's City Council member site and other local government information.
New York City has assumed a leadership role among U.S. municipalities in bringing technology to low-income residents. The unanimous passage of Res. No. 669 last February called for the provision of low- or no-cost high-speed Internet access to affordable housing residents. The 2006 budget allocation for One Economy's neighborhood Beehives goes even further toward realizing the city's vision by funding the creation of useful, relevant and easy-to-use online content that will help residents improve their lives and join the economic mainstream.
"I strongly believe that all New Yorkers should be able to tap the power of the Internet. So the Council was proud to fund One Economy's efforts to extend its innovative Web content to neighborhoods all over New York City. I believe this positions us as a national leader in putting technology in the service of low-income families," said New York City Council Speaker Gifford Miller.
This is the most aggressive local Beehive development project One Economy has undertaken to date. From any computer, at any time, Beehive users across New York City will be able to access all of the resources available in their neighborhood in one location. For example:
- The Beehive'sCareer Coach will refer users to local career counseling centers for in-person assistance
- People can get advice on securing small-business loans from reputable lenders in the community by visiting the Beehive's Entrepreneur Center
- Information about local school districts will be included in the school section of the Web site
- The Family/Parenting section will include local childcare options and parenting resources.
"This funding is particularly exciting and gratifying because it shows that New York City believes in the power of our work," said Mark Levine, One Economy's vice president, northeast region. "The Beehive is a proven online resource that connects neighbors to each other, to their community, and to the world around them. We're eager to bring these benefits to residents in every corner of New York City."
The Beehive is written at an accessible literacy level and all content is offered in English and Spanish, with select portions also available in Russian, Haitian Creole, Urdu and Mandarin Chinese. "Immigrant families in my district and throughout the city will derive great benefits from the Beehive's neighborhood Web sites, since the content is multilingual. My dream is that, thanks to the work of groups like One Economy, the Internet will soon become a resource for all of us, not just a fortunate few," said Councilmember Miguel Martinez.
Fausto Reyes, a 14-year-old Bronx resident, said the Beehive has simplified life for him and his family. "My mom and I used to always have to go somewhere and take a pen to fill things out when you could just be doing five-to-10 minutes at the computer. My mom used to do everything the old-fashioned way ... so it's
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like a revolution."
The Beehive's main sections include Money, with self-paced multimedia content about all aspects of personal finance; Small Business, with a comprehensive toolbox for micro-entrepreneurs; Health, with information on diet, exercise, pregnancy and the health care system, along with government and private insurance options; Education, with a homework help tool and guidance on how parents and caregivers can more fully participate in their children's education; Jobs, with an interactive Career Coach tool to help users move into their desired career; and Family, with parenting topics and childcare locator.
"The Beehive represents a powerful way for low-income New Yorkers to tap the tools of the Internet and connect to resources right in their community. This will be of particular use to those preparing to enter the workforce, so I see local Beehives as an important part of the city's effort to address the alarmingly high rates of unemployment in African-American and Latino communities," said Councilmember Robert Jackson. One Economy expects to start rolling out the neighborhood Beehives by early 2006.
