Health Forward Awards Kansas City No Violence Alliance Grant for Violence Reduction Project

Date: September 3, 2013
Contact: Michael Mansur
Phone: 816-881-3812
The Health Forward Foundation (Health Forward) and the governing board of the Kansas City No Violence Alliance is pleased to announce that the violence reduction project, commonly known as KC NoVA, has received a major new grant of $148,879.

The grant will be directed by KC NoVA to fund the social services component of the new violence-reduction effort in Kansas City.

“This grant assures that KC NoVA can deliver on its promise to help persons on the edge of violence,” said Jean Peters Baker, Jackson County Prosecutor and a member of the KC NoVA governing board. “Our goal is to help them so they are never involved in violence. This grant enables us to deliver the needed social services to those people.”

Mayor Sly James, who also is a member of the KC NoVA governing board, added: “I am so thankful to the Health Forward Foundation for their generosity and for their confidence in what KC NoVA is doing in our community.

“Crime doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” James added. “Investing in social services will help us get to the root cause of criminal actions and create a safer Kansas City.”

The Health Care Foundation’s board approved the grant at its meeting this month.

“The Health Care Foundation is pleased to support this innovative, collaboration between local, state and federal officials to work toward meaningful ways to curb crime and violence in our community,” said Health Forward Program Officer Andres Dominguez. “KC NoVA, along with Aim4Peace and other programs, are essential to bringing about positive change for our community, particularly in the urban core.”

The governing board of the Kansas City No Violence Alliance began to implement the new violence-reduction effort on Jan. 30 this year. The effort is modeled after other focused deterrence programs in U.S. cities that have been demonstrated to reduce the incidence of violent crime.

Members of the KC NoVA governing board include James; Baker; Kansas City Police Chief Darryl Forte’; U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson; Marino Vidoli, ATF’s Special Agent in Charge; Jackie Dunn, regional administrator of the Missouri Board of Probation & Parole; and Leo Morton, chancellor of the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Focused deterrence efforts combine community engagement, social services and law enforcement collaboration to focus on individuals associated with violence in the city. Over the last several months, KC NoVA has led call-ins, where these individuals are encouraged by governing board members and other key messengers, including the mothers of homicide victims, to take their offer of help or face more coordinated enforcement and prosecution.

KC NoVA received initial funding in 2012 from Greater Kansas City LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corp.) but its funding comes largely from its law enforcement partners, who have contributed personnel and other resources. The bulk of the new grant funds will be used to hire social service case managers for KC NoVA.