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.
Stacy Richardson is pictured in this file photo.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.