NETworX Returns to Anson, Continues Fighting Poverty
August 4, 2020
Charles Wood, Anson Record Staff Writer
MORVEN — HOLLA!, a local youth-centered non-profit organization, has worked in conjunction with NETworX USA, a North Carolina-based anti-poverty organization founded in 2015, to establish a NETworX branch in Anson County. Its goal is to approach poverty in a holistic manner.
According to its website, “NETworX USA is a movement to measurably reduce poverty through education and love of neighbor as well as self.” The mission of NETworX is to, “… equip communities to build intentional relationships across the lines that divide us by acknowledging the full dimensions of poverty and moving beyond strategies of rescue and relief to a mindset embracing mutual abundance in resources including financial, spiritual, cultural, emotional, relational, social, and physical.”
NETworX originally founded a branch in Anson County which operated from 2016 until 2018 under First United Methodist in Wadesboro.
In 2019, representatives from NETworX contacted Leon Gatewood, Founder, and CEO of HOLLA!, which stands for Helping Our Loved ones Learn and Achieve.
“Initially, when NETworX contacted Leon, there was a conversation concerning training,” said Devin Pettiford, Director of Communications. “That conversation lead them into asking Leon if he would like to start a branch in Anson County.”
“They asked if me if I could pull some community leaders together who would be interested in it,” said Gatewood. The community leaders Gatewood approached to be on the Board of Directors included Jim Boylin, Devin Pettiford, Devi Trotti, and Monique Freeney.
Heather McIntyre of First Presbyterian Church joined the NETworX Board in Nov. 2019. “I moved to Anson County in October,” said McIntyre, “and I was invited to attend a meeting. The next thing I knew I was heavily involved. I was the last Board Member to join the organization.”
Also in November, Anson County NETworX board members partook in an immersive 8-hour training session. “Everything went from there,” said Pettiford. These sessions focused on trauma, resilience, and goal setting.
“It’s a way of moving past a hierarchy of giving and receiving,” said Devi Trotti, pastor at Western NC Conference, United Methodist Church.
“I see NETworX as a way to plant seeds in our community,” said Gatewood. “We hope to use a holistic approach to get people to change their habits and get themselves out of a rut.”
This “holistic approach” means, “Not just saying to people that mismanage their funds, but looking at root habits and causes of poverty while being mindful of any trauma that we have experienced that are holding us back,” said Pettiford. “It also means looking at different resources within the county and building connections with them so we can better direct people to them who need their services.”
“At the model’s core are weekly meetings that include shared meals, time for relationship-building and mutual accountability, goal setting, and celebration,” said NETworX’s website. “Childcare and transportation, frequent barriers to regular participation, are provided as needed without cost. Education around the topics of self-awareness, racial equity, addiction in all of its forms, aspects of privilege, holistic poverty, social capital, the role of personal and community trauma, and community transformation form the topical base of the training classes.”
Starting in January, NETworX members, called “Champions”, will participate in a 12 week-long series of meetings via Zoom, due to COVID-19.
“Through these unprecedented times, I’ve seen many people at the end of their rope,” said McIntyre. “They feel unseen.
My deep, deep desire is that people we help get to experience the joy of being seen. That makes this work so worthwhile.
