ARLINGTON, TX, January 19, 2011 – Southwest Networks, Inc., an infrastructure cabling installation company, recently installed communications systems valued at over $38,000 to Union Gospel Mission Calvert Place men’s homeless shelter. The systems will help shelter residents look for online jobs, improve literacy levels, take high school equivalency tests and even provide multimedia presentations in the shelter’s worship chapel.

William Thompson, Executive Director for Union Gospel Mission, said their 330-bed men’s shelter is the oldest Dallas organization serving the homeless and averages 305 residents each night.  Thompson said the facility had some computers and a very antiquated phone system before the new installation.

“We ran the cable wires ourselves,” Thompson said. “We had wires running everywhere….this way….that way….from ceilings. If something went wrong we never knew what switch went out, it was a guessing game to fix it. Southwest Networks came in and professionally pulled our wires into one place, in neat bundles. It was beyond our wildest expectations.”

Volunteer Coordinator Paul Galahity said the shelter struggled with being able to back up systems, sluggish network communications and system failures for years.

“These are services we could never find funds to address,” Galahity said.

Thompson said the new technology impacts the residents in many ways. “Many people that come here can’t read. We set them up with a tutor that helps get them to a 3^rd grade reading level,” Thompson said. “Then we turn it over to our computers to complete their education and help them get their GED. In the library now they can download books and do studies there. In chapel we can now project images and media…there was no technology there before.”

Southwest Networks President Robert Hernandez said the donation is a unique way his organization can give something back to the community. “We were able to upgrade their systems and hopefully improve their quality of life. We know that the new system will allow them to focus more on their mission and less on issues with their phones and computers.”

Before the new system, the staff at the shelter spent hours backing up accounting and data systems, Thompson said. “Now we can back up in a matter of minutes and can communicate better between the women’s facility. This saves time and manpower and our staff now can spend more time coordinating our volunteers.”

About Southwest Networks, Inc.
Southwest Networks offers a turnkey solution for the design and installation of voice, data and fiber optic systems. Southwest Networks has fifteen years of experience in vertical and horizontal connectivity projects that extend over a wide variety of industrial and commercial network transport systems.

About Union Gospel Mission of Dallas

Since 1949 the Union Gospel Mission has been reaching out to the homeless in Dallas. The Union Gospel Mission provides food, shelter, clothing and faith to 500+ men, women and children nightly. Visit http://www.ugmdallas.org/index.html for more information or to donate to the organization.