Background Information: The Knoxville Empowerment Zone

Through the efforts of the Partnership for Neighborhood Improvement (PNI), the City of Knoxville, Knox County, and the State of Tennessee, a large portion of Knoxville has been designated an "Empowerment Zone" (EZ) by the Federal Government.  The program, administered by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is an important effort to stimulate new jobs, empower low-income individuals and families to become economically self-sufficient, and to promote revitalization of economically depressed areas.

In the 1998 competition to be designated an EZ, 120 cities applied.  Only 15 cities were successful in their quests and Knoxville ranked number 6 with its proposal.  Knoxville's EZ is a 16-square mile area with a population of 48,192.

After many meetings and careful planning, staff members have been hired and trained to help organize the Zone Advisory Councils (ZACs) that will help determine projects to be undertaken.  The ZACs will be composed of people like you who want to make a difference.  The EZ will have six different ZACs.

If you live in the Empowerment Zone, the best way to get involved is to join the ZAC that includes your neighborhood.  If you own or are employed by a business in the Zone, you can participate in the ZAC representing that area.  Nonprofit organizations, faith-based organizations, and educational institutions located in the Zone can also participate in the ZACs.  The ZACs will identify priority needs within each section of the Zone and assess the impact of funded activities on the ZAC neighborhoods.

The ZAC membership will elect a ZAC Board to develop official recommendations to the PNI, the EZ governing board.  The ZAC board will be composed of 15 members, which include Neighborhood Organizations (8), Faith-Based Organizations (1), Youth (1), Businesses (1), other organizations (1), and (2) Members-at-Large.  At least one member from the Neighborhood Organization Caucus must live in Public Housing or Section 8 Housing.

The date and location of your organizational meetings will be announced through the media, by your ZAC Organizer, or you may call the Center for Neighborhood Development office at 522-5935.  Your participation is crucial to the success of the project.

(From literature supplied by the Center for Neighborhood Development, 2000.)

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