COMBAT volunteer event supports Fairwood neighborhood
Crime prevention motivated 60 volunteers to walk the streets of Fairwood neighborhood, handing out flyers and yard signs as part of the COMBAT canvassing event on June 25.
Law enforcement, elected officials and Fairwood and Robandee residents met at St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Kansas City to show support to the community by walking the streets from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. during the second COMBAT canvassing event in the Hickman Mills area.
COMBAT (Community Backed Anti-Drug Tax) has three pillars against drug abuse: Prevention, Treatment and Law Enforcement. These pillars aim to limit the harm of drug abuse on individuals and communities. Volunteers approached store and home owners asking them to display the COMBAT "Step UP. Speak UP. Don't Look The Other Way" sign in their yards and windows.
"We need people to proactively take care of the community," said Arnold Lyon, Resident Community chairman for the Fairwood Neighborhood.
Lyon, a Fairwood resident since 1980, said people need to be active participants to keep neighborhoods safe. "It's about opening your eyes and saying something," he said.
Karry Palmer, president of Fairwood Homes Association, agreed that prevention is key to keeping neighborhoods safe.
"It's not just a neighborhood but a city-wide issue," said Palmer. "Crime goes from place to place. I don't believe crime [in Fairwood] is high, but we want to keep it that way".
Stacy Daniels-Young, Director of COMBAT, said they wanted to get neighborhood people out into the communities to show victims that there are alternatives.
"We have business owner and volunteer support, law enforcement is out tonight and they all had a mission. They would come back for more flyers and say 'We're going out again, we're going further.'"
Six teams with average of eight volunteers were escorted by police officers as they covered the Fairwood Homes Association area from 90th Terrace to 93rd Street.
"The turnout was a lot bigger than we expected," said Marqus Rose, LINC Caring Communities site coordinator at Hickman Mills Junior High School.
"I think this is the most people we've had at a neighborhood event," said Daniels-Young.
COMBAT canvassing events will take place through August. Visit the COMBAT website to learn more.
To learn more or to anonymously report a crime tip, call the COMBAT hotline at 816-881-3662.
