Council OKs a series of nonprofit contracts and funds aimed at homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing

Knoxville City Council on voice votes approved a package of resolutions authorizing funding and contracts for homelessness services and eviction mediation across several local nonprofits.

The mayor and council approved: up to $65,000 to the Salvation Army for emergency shelter and essential services at the Joy Baker Center; up to $30,000 to Catholic Charities of East Tennessee for Samaritan Place emergency shelter services; up to $54,720 to Volunteer Ministry Center for emergency shelter and dental clinic/resource center services; $40,000 to Volunteer Ministry Center for rapid rehousing services; $65,000 to Knoxville–Knox County Community Action Committee for rapid rehousing services; and $25,000 to Community Mediation Center to provide eviction mediation services to about 300 residents facing eviction within the city.

During the public hearing on the eviction mediation item, Jen Kemiski, executive director of Community Mediation Center, described the organization’s day-of-court mediation program that places trained volunteer mediators in General Sessions Court to help unrepresented tenants and small landlords reach negotiated outcomes that can avoid eviction judgments and preserve housing records. Kemiski said mediation can result in dismissal pending performance or additional time for residents to secure housing or resources.

Council members praised the nonprofit partners and emphasized that the city’s funds are intended to augment, not replace, broader service efforts. Councilmember Honeycutt noted the scale of the homelessness problem and thanked partner organizations for their daily work. Several items were funded from homeless general funds and one (Samaritan Place security upgrade) was funded through Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds.

All measures in this package were adopted by voice vote; formal roll-call tallies were not provided in the meeting record.