Knox County delays decision to redirect court-collected victim funds to new ‘Bridge to Safety’ program after hours of debate

The Knox County Commission on April 27 postponed for 60 days a resolution that would have designated court-collected victim-assistance assessment monies to the county sheriff’s Victim Assistance Fund to support a new Bridge to Safety program.

Criminal court clerk Mike Hammond told commissioners the Bridge to Safety — a county-led victim services effort that now operates from the city–county building and the Randy E. Nichols Family Justice Center — has helped more than 150 people since it launched and needs stable funding to continue 24-hour help for domestic-violence victims. Hammond asked that the county direct the assessment dollars collected in domestic-violence cases to the Sheriff’s Office victim-assistance account, saying every penny would go to direct services and pledging quarterly accounting to the commission.

Representatives of the Knoxville Family Justice Center, a 20-year-old nonprofit that previously carried the county’s designated victim-assistance program role, urged commissioners to reject the switch. Clay Puit, the nonprofit’s board president, and Shannon Lee, the interim executive…