KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A new plan in Kansas City is trying to invest in specific neighborhoods or block to help stop the violence.
It’s called Strengthening the Health of Neighborhoods program and it’s the result of a partnership between the City of Kansas City, Missouri and Community Capital Fund (CCF).
The hope is that people who already live in neighborhoods all over KC can ben the best people to prevent the violence and make their communities stronger as long as they have the proper training.
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“This has been proven by the CDC, ” said Kansas City Health Department Director Dr. Marvia Jones . “There’s a lot of literature about the extent to which relationships are cultivated between neighbors, that can get you ahead of a lot of the violence that can occur in the absence of that [connection].”
That’s why Jones says the city is working with CCF to send up to $8,500 to fund project budgets that will be put together by neighborhood representatives themselves. The money can be used to train those community members in issues like mental health first aid, connecting people to social services, or anything else their neighborhood needs.