KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Knoxville City Council met and voted on June 27 on a variety of proposals. Several of them focus on issues related to homelessness, such as programs to rapidly re-house people who may not have places to sleep. Some others also take steps to establish an alternative response team.
That team would be made up of a mental health worker and a medic and would respond to calls for help involving calls involving suicidal ideation, welfare checks, conflict resolution, complaints surrounding homelessness and mental health crises — instead of sending an armed police officer.
Some of the proposals that Knoxville City Council considered on Tuesday is available below.
Steps to Create an Alternative Response Team
UPDATE: The Knoxville City Council approved two of the proposals.
The first formally recognizes the need for more resources to address mental health, substance abuse and behavioral health needs in Knoxville. The resolution would also express the council's intent to work with the Knox County Commission in a joint workshop to review the findings of the "Sequential Intercept Mapping" exercise.
"We fully believe that in order for the alternative response to actually benefit our community, that team has to be that program has to be created with community input," said Amelia James, one of the co-founders of Knoxville HEART.
It's a team dedicated to bringing alternative responses to Tennessee. She is also a licensed social worker. She said Knoxville HEART feels it would be a benefit to the city as a whole.
"There are so many reasons why this benefits, everyone in Knoxville. The first is we know that our police are understaffed, and they are spending about 80% of their calls or non-crime calls that they're responding to. So they're being stretched really thin," James said. "A medic and a behavioral health professional's priority is going to be different. It's trying to establish safety for that person, so they can stay in the community safely."
It also addresses gaps in current services, including "the need for a local long-term psychiatric hospitalizations unit(s) with the intention of serving low income and uninsured individuals."
The resolution endorses a pledge from Mayor Indya Kincannon to provide $50,000 in matching funds to support the development of a "professional business and service delivery plan for an alternative response program."
The other resolution proposes work related to the alternative response take place during the fiscal year 2023-2024 and include a joint workshop scheduled for Jan. 25, 2024, at 6:30 p.m., with the Knox County Commission. That workshop would include a public hearing.
It passed with two council members abstaining. By passing the two resolutions, the city council effectively decided to start looking into creating a new alternative response team.
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Council members will discuss a total of three proposals aimed at taking steps to create an alternative response team. The first proposal was postponed from the council's May meeting.
That proposal would have provided $50,000 to form a task force to explore how the city would implement alternative response teams. They would be tasked with researching the feasibility and requirements to create such a team. It will be discussed again at Tuesday's meeting.
The council will also discuss a resolution that would formally recognize the need for more resources to address mental health, substance abuse and behavioral health needs in Knoxville. The resolution would also express the council's intent to work with the Knox County Commission in a joint workshop to review the findings of the "Sequential Intercept Mapping exercise.
During the meeting, they would also discuss gaps in current services, including "the need for a local long-term psychiatric hospitalizations unit(s) with the intention of serving low income and uninsured individuals."
The resolution would endorse a pledge from Mayor Indya Kincannon to provide $50,000 in matching funds to support the development of a "professional business and service delivery plan for an alternative response program."
A third resolution will also be discussed. It is also symbolic and would endorse Mayor Kincannon's pledge to provide funding. However, it also highlights steps the city took dating back to 2018 to address issues related to homelessness, such as working with Volunteer Ministry Center to provide street outreach services.
The third resolution also highlights studies showing law enforcement officers who work at least four hours of overtime are 15.2% more likely to discharge a gun while working, 12.5% more likely to be involved in a use-of-force incident and 13% more likely to get into a work-related car accident.
Advocates with Knoxville HEART said an alternative response team would improve outcomes for people in crisis, and would also help save the city money while reducing the burden on the Knoxville Police Department.
"I'm a therapist, and I work primarily with people who are have marginalized identities who have been harmed by the judicial system by police. And I see how much that impacts them and I'm trying to support their mental health. But if they're constantly being arrested, or harassed by police, like I see the trauma that that causes. So really, this is important to me, because I care about the people in this community. I want people to be safe, I want people to be cared for," James said.
Right now, Knoxville has a "co-responder" team. This type of team does not operate 24 hours per day and still involves officers. Mental health workers are paired with an officer to respond to calls involving mental health issues and similar complaints, instead of a nurse.
Resolutions addressing homelessness and providing rapid-rehousing services - ALL PASSED
Knoxville City Council will also discuss several resolutions aimed at addressing homelessness and providing additional services to unsheltered people across the city.
One agreement would spend $32,564 from federal grants and $39,245 from Homeless General Funds on an agreement with Volunteer Ministry Center to provide rapid re-housing and homelessness prevention services. The center would be expected to provide re-housing services to at least 30 people.
Through these services, people experiencing homelessness will get housing case management to help them find and maintain affordable and appropriate housing. After moving in, the center will provide case management for three additional months to make sure they can keep their home.
They will also be expected to provide 12 people with rental and utility deposits or cover relocation costs. If needed, they will also provide a portion of rent not covered by 30% of the client's income until a Housing Choice Voucher or Emergency Housing Voucher is issued.
Another proposal would spend $60,000 on an agreement with the Knoxville Leadership Foundation to provide homelessness prevention services through the foundation's Compassion Coalition program. Services would be expected to be provided to 40 people.
The program would provide case management, housing navigation resources as well as rental and financial assistance. Case managers will assess people to learn more about their needs, and will specifically determine if they qualify for youth aging-out-of-foster care services.
People at-risk of homelessness would also be able to go through financial coaching, budgeting assistance and different kinds of training.
A third proposal would spend $105,608 in federal Emergency Solutions Grant program funding to provide rapid re-housing services through the Homeward Bound program. The program would be expected to help 250 people experiencing homelessness.
Case managers will be expected to help develop an individualized plan to get people into stable housing and stabilize their finances. They will also need to provide six months of support after moving into a new home. They will be expected to help with steps such as security deposits, arrearages, application fees, first month's rent and short-term rental assistance as needed.
City Council members will discuss whether to give $50,000 to the Lakeshore Park Conservancy to help them manage and preserve the park. According to the resolution, the Parks and Recreation Department requested additional funding to help offset the nonprofit's administrative costs.
An appeal on the dockets involves a project to build a Taco Bell on Kingston Pike. The Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission previously granted a special use application for a project to build a new restaurant at 5613 Kingston Pike.
As part of that decision, the new Taco Bell restaurant would be able to have a drive-through as long as developers follow six conditions. It was approved in an 8-5 vote. Eight days after that decision, the owner of a nearby store filed an appeal on the Planning Commission's decision.
In the appeal, the owner says Taco Bell's drive-through would not be consistent with the plans and policies for Bearden Village, saying the Beaden Village Opportunities Plan recommends pedestrian walking improvements in the area around the proposed Taco Bell.
It also says that the drive-through is not compatible "with the character of the neighborhood where it is proposed." It also says the drive-through would harm nearby property values. It also says Taco Bell intends to have 11 vehicles in the drive-through lanes at any given time and says "simple math predicts there will be a car turning into and out of the drive-through every 20 seconds."
The appeal also said 134 Bearden community members spoke out against the drive-through through the Planning Commission's public comment section.