Wyandotte County to offer home repairs, relocation and counseling for gun violence victims
Seven years ago, a drive-by shooting became the first case District Attorney Mark Dupree handled as Wyandotte County’s top prosecutor.
Bullets had pierced the front door of a home, busted out windows and flattened the tires of a vehicle parked outside. One year later, the district attorney said, damage done to that very home and vehicle remained unfixed.
“What can we do about this?” Dupree recalled asking Damon Daniel, executive director of Kansas City’s Ad Hoc Group Against Crime, in 2017. “And it took us about seven years to figure it out — to find the funding.”
During a Tuesday press conference, Dupree, alongside Daniel and Kansas City, Kansas Police Chief Karl Oakman, announced a new initiative meant assist crime victims as well as reduce and prevent gun violence in the community.
The two-year program, funded with a $687,000 federal grant, will help pay for temporary relocations, home repairs, counseling and transportation, among other things. Dupree said Tuesday the initiative will offer some services that “are not currently available in this county.”
Under the program, victim advocates with the police department who respond to crime scenes will give residents affected by gun violence information and direction to apply for services. Applications will then be assessed by Ad Hoc, a social service nonprofit, and the district attorney’s office.
Services are to be provided regardless of whether a crime has been solved or if someone has been charged, Dupree said. Leaders hope there will be virtually no red tape for recipients to wade through and that the program will accelerate the delivery of help to those in need.
The program is designed to alleviate some of the stresses victims face in the aftermath of a crime. For example, Ad Hoc will arrange home repairs by contacting contractors and then pay the contractors when the repairs are completed.
It also aims to enhance public safety. Temporary relocation assistance will be provided to those at risk of being further victimized.
Oakman pointed to domestic violence as an example, saying the grant money will “immediately help” get people out of dangerous situations.
In 2023, the police chief said, a new initiative of using lethality assessments for domestic violence victims led to a nearly 70% decrease in such homicides over a single year.
“I think this is going to be a positive thing for gun violence victims, as well as those domestic violence victims where guns are involved,” Oakman said.
Wyandotte County has seen declines in violent crime, including its homicide rate, over recent years. In 2023, Kansas City, Kansas, saw the fewest homicides in the last decade and reductions in just about every other category of violent crime.
Still, Dupree said there were more than 200 shootings across the community last year alone.
“Gun violence is a reality not only in this community, but in this country. And unfortunately, we live in a time where no one wants to talk about it until it knocks on your door,” Dupree said, adding that these efforts will take place “on the ground level” while state and federal lawmakers debate policy.
“We still have victims, we still have trauma, we still have bullets that have caused so much division in people’s lives. And that is what we’re trying to deal with,” he added. “As they try to fix the legislation, we’re trying to help fix windows, trying to help fix doors, and help put lives back together.”
Daniel, executive director of Ad Hoc, said he is excited for the program partnering with the district attorney’s office and police department.
“When you talk about trauma associated with violence, we recognize that it is a journey. That for some is a lifetime journey,” Daniel said. “And we’re here to make sure that we provide the wraparound services and the trauma informed care necessary so that folks know that they are not alone.”
The new program will assist victims of shootings that occurred between April 1 and March 31, 2026. Local leaders encourage those seeking help to contact the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office at 913-573-2851 or the Ad Hoc Group Against Crime at 913-308-7555.
