Kansas City’s task force on violence set to present recommendations to City Council

As founder and executive director of the Kansas City Chapter of anti-violence group Mothers in Charge, Rosilyn Temple is often on the scene of homicides in Kansas City.

She also sits on the city’s Citizens Task Force on Violence. The group met Tuesday to discuss recommendations that they plan to present to the Kansas City Council to stem the tide of violence in the city.

Temple described the level of violence — specifically homicides — in Kansas City as an epidemic.

“We need to address it like it is a disease,” Temple said. “I think that’s what we need to do first. It’s taking a toll on our city. Homicide is a big problem, and no one is exempt.”

Kansas City Councilwoman Jolie Justus, chairwoman of the task force, agreed with Temple’s assessment.

“She is right,” Justus said. “Violence is a disease.”

The 19-member task force, which includes elected officials, professionals, social service workers, clergy, educators and others, was formed last November.

Tuesday’s gathering was the last in a series of listening sessions and other meetings around the city. The group will finalize suggestions by Nov. 4 and present them to the council soon thereafter.

The top anti-violence measure is the creation of a full-time staff position to coordinate the city’s violence-prevention efforts.

The position would be responsible for facilitating coalition building and leadership training for existing anti-violence programs and neighborhood leaders, among other duties.

Task force member Rodney Knott, CEO of ReEngage Staffing Services, said both city leaders and residents need to address the culture of violence.

Since January, the city has endured close to 100 homicides and is on pace to have the highest number of homicides in at least five years.

The city saw a drop in homicides in 2014, with 82 recorded for the year. But this time last year, the city had seen 80 homicides and went on to record 111. It had 100 violent deaths in 2013 and 106 homicides in 2012.

Other recommendations include establishing community resource centers, creating an electronic database of all community resources and agencies, and working with the Health Department to secure a study from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention on gun violence in the city.

Another recommendation is to develop and implement a comprehensive youth master plan to address anti-violence measures in elementary, middle and high schools.

Also part of the plan is to create a public service campaign. Justus said the task force has already secured a commitment that would produce the campaign for free.

Knott said the campaign shouldn’t sugarcoat violence in the city.

“We can’t dance around it,” Knott said. “We need to address these issues head on, or we are wasting our time.”

This story was originally published October 25, 2016 at 9:35 PM with the headline "Kansas City’s task force on violence set to present recommendations to City Council."