Supporting Growth Through Smarter IT

The Situation

A Request That Revealed a Bigger Need

As N Street Village prepared to open the Patricia Handy House in 2016, their Director of Operations reached out to place a straightforward order for 15 computers. It was a pressing request, aimed at getting the new facility up and running as quickly as possible.

But given our long-term partnership with the organization and our familiarity with their infrastructure, we paused to ask a bigger question: what was driving the request?

The Challenge

Growth That Outpaced the Infrastructure

The request was part of a much larger picture. The Patricia Handy House was one piece of an ongoing expansion effort that would eventually grow their team from 40 to more than 130 staff members across five locations.

At the time, N Street Village relied on VPN-based workstations. While secure, the system wasn’t designed to scale. Adding users across sites risked performance issues, inefficiencies, and added IT strain. A lack of system consistency also made onboarding and cross-site communication harder.

Tim Fretz, Director of Operations, was already managing IT, facilities, construction, and grants. The organization needed a smarter, scalable solution that would let him focus on strategic priorities without getting pulled into daily IT issues.

The Solution

Implementing a Thin Client Model

Instead of simply filling a device order, we proposed a broader solution. We recommended shifting to a Thin Client system that would support long-term growth and simplify IT management.

Unlike traditional PCs, Thin Clients connect to a centralized server and access applications and data over the network. This setup eliminated the need for fully configured on-site machines and gave N Street Village a more reliable, cost-effective system to support their staff and locations.

The transition provided consistent access across all sites and made it easier to bring new facilities and employees online. With the same hardware and software environment in place at each location, the organization gained a stronger foundation for collaboration and communication.

The Result

IT Systems That Empower Growth

The Patricia Handy House launched successfully, and new staff were onboarded without disruption. Since making the transition to a thin client system, N Street Village has been able to scale more smoothly, with faster location setup, easier staff onboarding, and fewer technical complications.

They now operate five locations, serve over 2,000 women annually, and have doubled their housing capacity. With standardized systems in place, communication across locations has improved, and staff can access the same resources no matter where they work.

Most importantly, their Director of Operations no longer has to manage every technical issue firsthand. The new infrastructure allows leadership to focus on growth, facilities, and funding while knowing the IT side is built to support them.

Our Partner

About N Street Village

N Street Village is an empowering non-profit organization. For over 40 years, they have provided help to homeless and low-income women in Washington D.C. through housing, food, health, and career services. As of this year, they are the largest provider of housing and social services for women in the D.C. area.

Their mission is to empower homeless and low-income women in D.C. to claim their highest quality of life by offering a broad spectrum of services, housing, and advocacy in an atmosphere of dignity and respect.