Tennessee lawmakers have stripped roughly $30 million that was supposed to bankroll Memphis violence-prevention work, a move local groups say will squeeze services and staff just as the city is trying to cement recent drops in gun violence. Community organizations that handle street outreach, school-based programming, and violence-interruption efforts warn that the cut threatens long-term projects built on slow, steady relationship-building in neighborhood hot spots. K. Durell Cowan, executive director of Heal 901, called the loss “a big hit” to his group.
How the budget shifted
Gov. Bill Lee had pitched an $80 million package meant to keep the Memphis SAFE task force going and expand prevention grants, but lawmakers signed off on a budget that leaves about $50 million for the city and reallocates roughly $30 million that had originally been described for Memphis, according to The Daily Memphian and local coverage of the governor’s State of the State remarks. That slimmer package shrinks the pot advocates expected to tap for workforce-development programs…..