Chattanooga city officials made their case before the city council Tuesday about Mayor Berke’s proposal to hire three “re-entry navigators” to help provide support services through the Department of Youth and Family Development.
The agency has been moving toward a case management model over the last several years that connects families with resources to help them reach positions of long-term stability despite facing conditions of poverty and gang violence in their communities. Employees in Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke’s office are hoping to structure support services for gang members, families and at-risk youth around these new navigators.
As proposed, two navigators would work with adults in the Office of Family Empowerment division of the Department of Youth and Family Development, while the third would work with teens. A total of $245,000 has been proposed to pay for the three positions, with $172,442 allocated for the adult navigators and $72,558 for the teen navigator.
“[The Office of Family Empowerment] provides holistic wraparound support to families by providing the tools and resources to help families achieve self-sufficiency rather than focusing on bill payment and one-time emergency services,” said Rachel Howard, office director.
She said the addition of the navigators is an expansion of the social services component of the Violence Reduction Initiative, an effort to combat violence by focusing on the individuals who are driving it.