HUD secretary speaks to Nashville students about ConnectHome

Julián Castro's Nashville visit to speak on President Barack Obama's initiative to connect more homes to the Internet carried with it a message of hope for Stratford High School student Terra Flye.

"This is one of the best experiences I've ever had," said the 17-year-old, who briefly was able to talk to the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. "He gave me really good advice to never stop pursuing what I want to do in life."

Castro's roundtable discussion at the high school Wednesday centered on bringing awareness to Obama's ConnectHome broadband initiative and the value it will bring to students. The visit also brought with it a status update on Nashville's progress in connecting more households to the Internet since joining the initiative.

Students such as Flye, who lives at J.C. Napier Homes, have no Internet access at home. It's made school and studying harder for the teen, especially in an age when Internet connectivity has become a necessity to complete school work.

"We cannot have a United States of America where only if you have some money do you have access to the Internet," Castro said. "In order to be competitive in the 21st century economy, we need to equip all of our young people with Internet access."

The ConnectHome initiative is being led by HUD to encourage cities to increase digital connectivity to those in most need. ConnectHome has 27 cities and one tribal community participating and is expected to reach nearly 275,000 low-income households.

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The Nashville program, led and funded locally by the private and nonprofit sector, is expected to connect more than 5,200 households and will include digital literacy programs. Google Fiber and other local partners are working with community groups to provide computer labs and digital literacy programs, with a focus on K-12 students.

"The fact is that the access our young people have to technology and broadband and the Internet is so important to ensuring they get a great educational experience," Castro said.

Although the program is in its early stages, Nashville has a rough outline and Mayor Megan Barry, who was present during Castro's visit, has stated her dedication to the program and increasing access to technology for low-income households.

Metro's Digital Inclusion Fund has raised more than $400,000 to provide access for low-income residents.

"We are impressed with the number of people that have been brought together," said Robbie Greenblum, HUD senior policy adviser. "Nashville is doing very well in its efforts."

For Flye, the sooner the initiative gets off the ground, the better.

"It is something that is big for me and will be a help, even when I am in college," she said. "And it will be a big change for my community.

"I also have a younger sister, and it will help her big time."

Reach Jason Gonzales at 615-259-8047 and on Twitter @ByJasonGonzales.