Safer Communities

We can all agree that our legal protections and current policies fail to keep us safe at times. Just beneath the veneer of a friendly small town, Knoxville is confronting tough challenges with increasing rates of violence and grieving for lives lost. Too many of us suffer the trauma of friends and family lost to, or devastated by, an act of violence, and communities are wounded in their wake. 

Seema has listened intently to community members who are overwhelmed with pain and disillusioned by the traditional approaches to public safety that have too often failed them.

Councilperson Singh successfully shepherded a resolution through City Council this year that supports a multi-agency, multi-government community-based Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund to develop non-law enforcement, proactive, evidence-based measures to reduce violence and promote healing and hope throughout the city. The Fund will support non-law enforcement initiatives that address root causes of violence by providing employment, training, education and counseling to individuals, as well as investing in trauma-informed services.

As a survivor of domestic violence and a certified coordinator of a program to rehabilitate domestic violence offenders, Seema understands that long before someone picks up a gun, violent behavior is often cultivated by family, economic, and social circumstances.

Seema’s approach to Safer Communities is one that people from all sides can get behind if we are willing to open our eyes to the true nature of crime and violence. 

Issues of poverty and race, as well as domestic problems, have long been part of Seema’s professional focus. Her “treating the root problem” philosophy on City Council includes promoting policies and directing resources to deal directly with the substance abuse, economic hardships, racial discrimination, access to mental health support, and exposure to domestic assault that undergird most violent acts in our community.