(Memphis) Second Chance program leaders are asking the Memphis City Council to restore more than $200,000 they have been getting in funding from the city.
The group works to ensure former felons start a new life and do not offend again.
Earlier this year, the Council decided to give the money to non-government groups saving them over $60,000.
The city’s Office of Reentry believes Second Chance does a better job providing family and drug counseling, and job training, than other non-profits since only 3% of their clients are re-arrested.
For that reason, they think they should be funded by the city, not non-profits.
Parks and Neighborhoods Director Janet Hooks told us, “We still have some employees in place, but that will come to an abrupt end in thirty days if the funding is not restored.”
DeAndre Brown`s group, Lifeline to Success, is one of the non-government programs in line to get a piece of that $200,000.
Brown would like his group to get more money from the city to help put felons to work and train them with life skills.
But, he also agrees the Second Chance Program should get more funding, “This has to happen in order to make our worker easier, because we can pull from the pool of people they’ve already ran through the program and put them on the employment side.”