Efforts to curb gun violence among Chattanooga youth could get a boost if the city receives $2 million from a federal program.
The city is seeking money from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to support the Chattanooga United to Reduce Violence initiative, a pilot program the city introduced in March that aims to intervene with young people at the highest risk of commiting violent crimes. The Chattanooga City Council authorized staff to pursue that funding Tuesday.
Through this program, several “boots on the ground” community members, who are part of an intervention team that has been making connections in the Avondale, Bushtown and Churchville neighborhoods.
“A lot of them come from these various communities,” Chris Sands, the city’s executive director of community safety and gun violence prevention, said in a phone call. “They are vetted, and they are credible messengers that are … reaching those who have been drivers of violence in our community.”
(READ MORE: ‘We are a violent culture’: Chattanooga leaders discuss gun violence, mental health)
Sands said staff worked with Norman Kerr, a consultant the city hired last year, to develop the model. Kerr previously oversaw violence reduction efforts in the administration of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot before stepping down in 2021. He also worked for an organization called UCAN from 2012 to 2019, where he led efforts to address violence in several Chicago neighborhoods and spent 14 years with Cure Violence, a program previously known as Ceasefire.
Through the Chattanooga initiative, officials are providing trauma care and conducting mental health check-ins to ensure victims of violence have the necessary resources and support systems in place, Sands said. They’re also training people how to use naloxone, a drug used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. The program aims to provide job training and skill building for high-risk individuals and foster community-led events.
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Ruben Muriente, program manager in the city’s office of community health, said employees and the violence intervention team receive training on how trauma can affect behavior. Officials are also teaching children, caregivers and teachers about those effects. Alongside trauma, poverty and childhood abuse or neglect can also be risk factors that can cause people to choose to commit violence.
The Chattanooga United to Reduce Violence program was previously relying on pandemic relief funds. That three-year grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance would make the intervention team positions permanent and would help forge partnerships with community members in East Chattanooga.
Sands said the city’s eight chain intervention team members are already working heavily in the Avondale, Bushtown and Churchville neighborhoods.
“That’s the most high-volatile area of high-risk youth and just violence in our city,” Sands said. “We wanted to start there and build the relationships to mitigate some of the issues that are going on in our community.”
Chattanooga had 98 non-fatal shootings in 2023, an increase from 92 the year prior, according to the police department’s annual report. There were 25 fatal shootings in 2023, up from 20 in 2022.
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.