Council member Marvene Noel said every cent of the $1 million the city awarded the Community Haven two years ago was worth it, evident from the calls she receives from constituents.
“They have said how happy they are, how safe they feel to sit on their porch,” Noel, of Orchard Knob, said during a Chattanooga City Council meeting Tuesday. “Bikes have not been taken. Cars have not been broken into. When I get phone calls like that — because you know as a rule, we don’t hardly call people when things are good; we call when we want to complain — but when you get those type of calls, they let me know that every brown cent was worth it.”
(READ MORE: Chattanoogans call for city action on affordable housing crisis)
The Community Haven’s violent prevention efforts, which have included community patrols, outreach and workshops, were among dozens of projects funded in 2022 with money Chattanooga received from the American Rescue Plan Act, a law the federal government passed in 2021 to shepherd the economy through the pandemic.
“A lot of the vehicles that we have, the assets that we have — we had a lot of those prior to (the American Rescue Plan Act) that we funded out of our own pocket,” Kevin Muhammad, the president of the Community Haven, said in an interview. “What (the pandemic money) allowed us to do is say, ‘Hey wait a minute. We can make them more efficient. We can expand their reach.'”
The city received $38.6 million through the legislation, $30 million of which was distributed to local organizations and projects designed to boost entrepreneurship, affordable housing, public safety and more. The Community Haven initially received $1 million but could get another allocation from the city. Council members will consider several new investments during their regular meeting next week.
(READ MORE: $1 million grant helps Chattanooga faith leader relaunch Community Haven patrol program)
That includes another $750,000 for the Community Haven, $500,000 for Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise’s housing rehabilitation program and $500,000 for the AIM Center to develop supportive housing. Legal Aid of East Tennessee, which runs an eviction prevention initiative, may also receive another $326,000.
Last year, Muhammad relaunched the Community Haven’s patrol program with help from the city’s $1 million allocation.
“There was so much that we were doing prior to this, and with the award, we were able to expand our reach and do a whole lot more,” he told council members Tuesday.
The group mapped parts of Bushtown and assessed crime statistics for those areas.
“We know who owns every piece of property — whether it’s vacant, whether it’s abandoned, whether they’re renting, who lives there,” Muhammad said. “We go through that whole process of meeting and talking with those residents.”
Patrol members use vehicles equipped with GPS tracking and also wear body cameras. The organization has a dispatch system at its office. The group has also put out 500 yard signs with a phone number for the Community Haven, which appear on the major streets in Bushtown.
Beyond patrols, the organization also constructed a multipurpose building where it conducts workshops and seminars and has built a library to improve literacy rates among elementary school children, Muhammad said.
The Community Haven holds a summer camp for students from Orchard Knob Middle School. The camp teaches the students life skills. Children have gone whitewater rafting and zip-lining.
Last year, 50 young people participated in a job training program, where they learned how to start their own business and participated in mock interviews, Muhammad said. At the end of the program, participants each received $300 and learned how to open a bank account.
Additionally, the group has provided hundreds of thousands of pounds of free produce through its food program.
“These are things that it is important to note that we were doing prior to (the American Rescue Plan Act) that we basically were funding out of our own pocket,” Muhammad said. “We kind of ran out of lint in our pocket.”
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Kevin Muhammad speaks in 2023 to the audience at the Community Haven’s communications center. The Community Haven may receive another $750,000 from the city to further its violence prevention efforts.