As the victims of a Saturday night Coolidge Park shooting recuperate and three young people await trial, some Chattanoogans question the community’s commitment to at-risk youth.
Hugh Reece, a retired Chattanooga Municipal Court security officer and a former president of the Southeast Council of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, said city leaders need to stop denying a growing local gang problem.
“The gang situation in Chattanooga is at a critical stage,” he said. “No more focusing on the individual meetings. We just need to act.”
Mr. Reece, who also is the community outreach coordinator for the Hamilton County Coalition/M.L. King Weed and Seed program, said the city has to check its priorities.
“They can put a million dollars’ worth of cameras for Coolidge Park, but they can’t come up with any good job training programs? They need to invest in the kids,” he said. “Until our elected leaders step to the plate and take control of the city, this is nothing. I see this summer is just going to be … totally off the scale.”