Elizabeth Orosco
Northeast News

Every month, neighborhood leaders, law enforcement, and representatives from various agencies meet in the Northeast to discuss ways to address crime in the community.
The Northeast Violence Reduction Initiative is led by Jackson County COMBAT Director Vince Ortega, who served 30 years with Kansas City Police Department before being selected as director in 2018.

The goal of the meetings is to determine the various crime issues happening in the community and what services can be offered to intervene, prevent, or treat the root issues.
In attendance are agencies such as the Center for Conflict Resolution (CCR), Mattie Rhodes Center, Kansas City Police Department (KCPD), Family Court, Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS), LISC, Kansas City No Violence Alliance (KC NoVA), and Jackson County COMBAT.

Community leaders report on various issues that transpired in the neighborhoods, and what can be done.

Agencies are able to discuss what they offer, new ideas and perspectives on issues, how it can help in certain situations, and if there is a gap in services, how that can be addressed.
During the June 21, 2019 meeting, two Northeast families were identified as being in conflict with one another. Representatives with KCPD offered information from a law enforcement perspective, KCPS discussed what the issue looked like regarding the children in the situation, and then the Mattie Rhodes Center scheduled a meeting with CCR to determine what services could be offered.

At the July 19, 2019 meeting, CCR reported that their services had been offered to the families in the Northeast community who had been in conflict with one another and they were able to resolve disputes peacefully and drop all orders.

The Mattie Rhodes Center reported that the children from those same families had been attending various youth events that the program offers.

These types of wrap-around services are what the group aims for: treating the whole family and bringing as many resources to the table as possible to prevent crime.

While all the agencies represented have this similar goal, an issue of communication has been a roadblock.

Ortega said he is actively working on implementing Apricot 360: a HIPAA-compliant (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) social solutions software system that will better connect data from the various agencies to give a more holistic view of children and families.

The next scheduled meeting will be held August 16, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. at the Mattie Rhodes Center, located at 148 N. Topping Avenue.