KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Knoxville City Council voted Tuesday to approve more than $500,000 in funding aimed at reducing violence through youth programming, case management, and mental health services.
The investment spans three initiatives led by the city’s chief of community safety and empowerment, LaKenya Middlebrook, who said the effort is designed to connect residents most at risk of violence with resources they have historically struggled to access.
Middlebrook opened two separate contracts following community feedback that residents needed easier access to services addressing the root causes of violence.
C.O.N.N.E.C.T Ministries was awarded a case management contract. Executive Director Keira Wyatt said the organization assesses clients across a range of needs.
“Do they have mental health needs? Do they have physical needs? Do they have housing needs? Do they have food insecurities? What about their children? Are they threatened with safety?” Wyatt said.
A second contract was awarded to the McNabb Center to provide mental health services.
“It provides an opportunity for us to connect those who may most need those services, but are least likely to have access to them,” Middlebrook said.
Middlebrook also revived the city’s Opportunity Youth grant program, which launched as a pilot program in 2021 and is now a full grant program with tens of thousands of dollars available.
Funding has been awarded to 13 community groups offering programming in music, sports, career readiness, and entrepreneurship.
The program targets residents ages 16 to 24 who are at the highest risk of becoming a victim of violent crime or perpetrating violent crime.
Eligible participants include those with juvenile or criminal system involvement, those disconnected from school or work, previous violent crime victims, and those with a close friend or family member who was shot in the last year.
“Giving young people, especially our teens and young adults, something to feel connected to helps them to make choices that are going to be healthy, not only for themselves and their family, but for our community,” Middlebrook said.
Wyatt said community-based trust is central to the approach.
“It’s folks in our own community that are protecting us. It is not some random folks. It’s people that we know and trust. And those are trusted messengers and people have a tendency to gravitate to people who they can trust,” Wyatt said.
The grant program is expected to begin this spring and run through October — a period when teens are out of school.
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