The Knoxville City Council authorized three separate agreements intended to expand nonpolice responses and trauma-informed services in neighborhoods experiencing higher levels of violence.

The council approved a contract with VisionLEd (listed in the agenda as Vision Lehi LLC) for social-emotional learning workshops in Project TLC areas for up to $35,000 (item 11q); a $60,000 agreement with Covenant Counseling and Consultative Services to deliver individual and group counseling for victims of gun violence and their families (item 11r); and a $31,050 contract with the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention to provide training and technical assistance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center and the city on hospital-linked violence intervention programs (item 11s).

The items were presented as part of a broader community safety strategy that pairs enforcement with prevention and support. Staff described the three contracts as complementary: VisionLEd’s workshops and training are aimed at residents and frontline providers; Covenant Counseling will provide therapeutic services and referrals; and the Health Alliance contract will help develop hospital-based rapid intervention points to connect victims to services at the teachable moment immediately after hospital care.

Council member Parker asked for more detail about existing mental-health and community-based programs the city has supported previously; staff said that some programs remain active and that new agreements will report on participation and referrals while respecting clinical confidentiality. Staff described planned data-sharing as aggregate and de-identified reporting (demographics, referral patterns, program completion) rather than individual clinical records. The administration said it is procuring software and provider agreements to enable consistent, appropriate information sharing among network partners.

Votes and outcome: The VisionLEd contract passed with two abstentions (recorded as passed with abstentions); both the Covenant Counseling and Health Alliance items passed with the same recorded tally (passed; transcript recorded 6 yes, 0 no, 2 abstentions on one item and similar for the others). Council members who asked for further reporting or who abstained said they wanted clearer data-sharing agreements and more information about continuity with existing programs.

Clarifying details: Covenant Counseling’s services will be therapeutic and will have confidentiality limits; planned reporting will focus on aggregate participant counts, referral sources and service flow rather than client-level therapy notes. Staff said the Health Alliance work will focus on program design and training for hospital staff to enable effective hospital-linked violence intervention.

What happens next: Contracts are to be executed and the Office of Community Safety and Empowerment will coordinate reporting and a provider network to standardize data-sharing agreements and performance reporting to council.