What are the next steps for Chattanooga's Violence Reduction Initiative?

March 13--The social services arm of Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke's Violence Reduction Initiative was crippled when the city council rejected a provider contract in January.

Two months later -- and about two weeks before the next scheduled gang call-in -- there's still no contracted social services provider. Services such as education and job referrals, or help with housing and transportation, are being handled on a volunteer basis.

The administration and council are still feeling bruised and pointing fingers.

But they're also making plans. Councilman Anthony Byrd, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, is canvassing neighborhood groups and providers, hoping to rebuild a structure that relies on community resources to reach and help gang members who want to change their lives.

The administration, meanwhile, aims to take over social services case management for VRI clients in-house.

Stacy Richardson, Berke's chief of staff, said Monday the city will hire "navigators" to connect gang members who want to get out of the gang life with resources to help, from substance abuse programs to expunging criminal records, as well as referrals for schooling and jobs. A separate component will focus on mentoring and programs for youth, in hopes of keeping them away from gangs.

"The Violence Reduction Initiative has proven to effectively and sustainably reduce criminal activity while helping people figure out how to live safe and productive lives," Richardson said in an emailed statement. "As the Times Free Press reported in January, gang-related homicides fell 16 percent in 2017, and gang-related shootings dropped by 35 percent."

There are still details to work out, she said, but the city hopes to have a structure ready by budget time.

"... Our commitment to reducing violence is as strong as ever," Richardson said. "By building on a strategy that we know is effective, we will continue to drive down violent crime and gang behavior throughout Chattanooga. ... Everybody agrees there's a tremendous need, but the question is how do you maximize the resources to meet that need and the community's need?"

Byrd and Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod, whose city districts see much of the impact of gangs, have been working on community solutions, but Chairman Jerry Mitchell said Monday that "this is the administration's task."

"It's great to be impassioned about wanting to see something happen, but the nine council people and three staff have little ability to make something work," Mitchell said.

Berke launched the VRI in 2014 as part of a widespread effort to combat gang violence with both a stick and a carrot by coordinating law enforcement, court and community resources.

Police and service providers hold occasional call-ins when gang members are summoned for pizza and straight talk: Put down the guns and get connected with job training, transportation and education services. Keep shooting and law enforcement will be keeping a sharp eye out, waiting its chance for arrests and prosecutions.

Results have been mixed, but Chattanooga isn't far from where it was when Berke first took office, according to some measurements.

The total number of shootings involving gang members in 2017 wound up at 64, just one more than the tally for 2014. The shooting rate jumped by a couple of dozen incidents through 2015 and 2016 before falling off again.

City Council balks

In 2017, case management was the job of local provider Father to the Fatherless [F2F]. The administration in January asked the council to approve a new contract with F2F, one that veered away from adult gang members and focused more on reaching middle-school-age children with mentoring and programs.

Council members loved the idea, but asked the administration for reports detailing F2F's work in the prior year: number of clients, types of services and providers, and qualifications of the case managers. When no information was provided the council refused to vote on the new contract. The council members still haven't been given the reports, several have said.

Email conversations obtained through an open records request show F2F Executive Director April Boozer provided several reports to city officials last year, including multiple documents with the information the council had asked for. Boozer sent several such reports to the mayor's office at the beginning of November, when its contract was expiring.

"My goal is to inform the community of the fact that F2F did turn in all data that was requested," Boozer said via email.

"We followed the same protocol as we have always followed regarding data due to the sensitivity of the nature of the report. Not sure who was responsible for ensuring that city council received the information," she wrote.

"Overall I need the community to understand that we did our part and we are still working without getting paid. All because somewhere there was a breakdown in communication, and we are getting the backlash of it all."

Byrd said the council was only doing its due diligence by asking for information.

"Father to the Fatherless, I think they've done great work ... but at the end of the day we have to be able to say to our constituents, this is what the money is being spent on," Byrd said.

"Take a basketball player or a football player and you're signing them to a team but you don't have their stats. At some point in time, if you're going for a job, that resume should be in front of you."

Community solutions

Byrd has been collecting community input and assessing resources, starting with a public meeting in February. He'd like to see money held by a nonprofit organization and doled out to providers, and he said he's hoping to get the $600,000 proposed for a two-year contract with F2F up to $1 million or more with help from donors, Hamilton County commissioners and foundations.

He's focused on programs to keep young people mentored, motivated and out of trouble via tutoring, athletics, field trips and whatever else works. He's also learned about existing programs and services offered through schools, the city's Youth and Family Development centers and the Family Justice Center. The trouble is, families who most need those services are perhaps least likely to know about them.

"Just getting the word out, letting people know this is available" is important, Byrd said. "I think this has been a major disconnect -- if they don't know, they can't go. ... Opportunity is here and we need to present to the children and the parents that, hey, the city of Chattanooga has your back."

Contact Judy Walton at jwalton@timesfreepress.com or 437-757-6416.

Contact Emmett Gienapp at egienapp@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731.

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