Earlier this week, as Nashvillians gathered at city hall to share their desires for the city budget with Metro councilmembers, one ask stood high above the rest: the Varsity Spending Plan.
A product of the Southern Movement Committee, the plan saw more support than any other request brought up at the budget public hearing. It asks for more than $10 million for restorative justice and violence prevention.
Last year, the organizing group brought young people together to think about changes they want to see in their communities. After a vote, they agreed upon three asks:
- $4 million to increase community center programming (which includes adding a restorative justice person on staff) in centers located “in areas impacted by harm and the criminal legal system”
- $2 million to add designated restorative justice personnel in similarly impacted high schools
- $4 million to establish a new “Office of Youth Safety”
According to the SMC, the office would be the first of its kind nationwide.
“I think Nashville has done a lot of investing in the thing that happens after,” says Jamel Campbell-Gooch, the organizing director at SMC. “What the Office of Youth Safety will be in charge of is trying their best to stop escalation and to stop conflicts from becoming violent.”
Beyond devising a plan, the youth assembly was also able to delve into understanding how a city government operates. Campbell-Gooch says this, along with a dedication to seeing their plan succeed, drove the group to show up for the public hearing.
“This is the thing that they created,” Campbell-Gooch says. “And since this was the thing that they created, they have a sense of ownership and a duty to see it all the way through.”
And show up they did — around a third of attendees were there to support the Varsity Spending Plan. Many of the young people who spoke shared how the funding could directly impact their lives.
“I had a friend whose home life wasn’t very healthy, and for a long time, school was their safe place. Until we got to high school and it started feeling more like a burden than an escape,” said Paige Hodge, an 18-year old SMC youth organizer. “Not too long after, he got caught up in some bad stuff because he no longer felt he had options. And now, he’s in jail. Had things been different, he would have been graduating with me this year.”
Currently, the Varsity Spending Plan is not outlined in the mayor’s proposed budget. In order to receive funding, it would require the Metro Council to approve dollars through a substitute spending plan.
The council is required to approve a substitute budget by the end of the month. If they cannot agree, the mayor’s plan will go into effect.
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