Aim4Peace, a public health approach to reducing gun violence in Kansas City, is taking its life-saving efforts on the road with a new mobile resource center.
The nonprofit violence prevention program recently purchased a recreational vehicle, which they’ve outfitted to bring their services directly to the neighborhoods that need them most.
“This vehicle is one of the new things to help us, ” said Jamal Shakur, violence prevention supervisor for Aim4Peace. “People have seen our consistency, and our hard work does pay off.”
Aim4Peace, which has operated in Kansas City for the past 14 years, focuses on interrupting the cycle of retaliation that often fuels gun violence. The program is part of the Behavioral Health and Injury Prevention Division of the KC Health Dept. and is guided by the Violence Free Kansas City Committee (VFKCC), a subcommittee of the Health Commission.
With a team of 27 to 50 violence interrupters, Aim4Peace engages with high-risk individuals in areas like the Prospect Corridor, where they work to de-escalate conflicts and connect people to community resources. The VFKCC helped develop the KC Blueprint for Violence Prevention and a Safe and Healthy Community, which outlines strategies for various sectors to support nonviolence and healthy communities.
“We’re out in the streets,” Shakur explained. “You may see us on Prospect, engaging the people that we consider high-risk.”
The new RV allows Aim4Peace to expand their reach even further.
“We just don’t show up [at events],” Shakur said. “We go out into the neighborhoods, the parks, and we do what we need to do.”
Those who visit the mobile station can find information on Aim4Peace’s services, including their hospital-based violence intervention program and their work with local schools. The mobile unit also provides a space for the program’s violence interrupters to meet with community members and connect them to support.
“Young people have to have somewhere to go,” Shakur explained when describing how young folks have large, informal gatherings. “Our job is to be there.”
Aim4Peace’s comprehensive approach to violence prevention has earned national recognition, including a Promising Practice Award from the National Association of County and City Health Officials in 2011. The program was also recently awarded a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Dept. of Justice to expand its services.
Beyond the work of Aim4Peace, the VFKCC also oversees the Partners for Peace program, which offers social services to victims of violent crime, family members of homicide victims,and those likely to commit crimes or who have been previously incarcerated.
