KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Only one-fifth of non-deadly shootings in Jackson County make it to the prosecutor's office. But there is some hope in a couple of newer programs that help people in real time.
The AdHoc Group Against Crime's Fresh Start Program has relocated 100 families over the last two years to save their lives.
"A lot of it is retaliation. That is one of the big ones we see, especially if a person agrees to cooperate with law enforcement," said Branden Mims, director of crisis intervention with AdHoc. "Some of the biggest relocations we've done have been someone who agreed to testify, or someone who saw something and said something."
Mims said AdHoc encourages people to speak up if they have witnessed a crime, so the group feels a moral responsibility to help those people get a fresh start.
AdHoc unofficially started the program a few years ago when a desperate mother pulled up to its office with her car full of bullet holes, saying someone was targeting her son. And the need has grown since.
Usually, the victims have been sent threatening texts or messages on social media, their houses have been shot up in a drive-by, or they have received other threats. AdHoc evaluates the need and immediately gets started.
"It is intense. We're going to take you that day from wherever you were, we're going move you to a safe location, we're going to take your cellphone, we're going to take any kind of social media, we're going to make you delete the account," Mims said. "You can't tell anybody. If we choose a hotel, you're not going to be under your name, it's going to be an alias."
AdHoc has learned a lot since the program started, such as which moving companies the group can use on a moment's notice and which landlords are the most understanding.
Sometimes families will be relocated to a neighboring city or with a relative in another state; it just depends on the person's situation and financial status. AdHoc will help them with rent and utilities until they get on their feet if they have no income.
Mims said none of the people who were relocated have been hurt or retaliated against since.
In 2018, AdHoc started partnering with the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office.
Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker realized she never sees the majority of violent crime victims, so she started the Caring for Crime Survivors Program.
Police aren't able to solve half of the homicides that happen, and only one in five non-fatal shootings are prosecuted.
"Let's start with a knock on their door that says we're here, we want to support you," Peters Baker said.
When Peters Baker's office charges a suspect, her office's victims advocate program reaches out to the victims and provides resources.
"But for these uncharged cases, because they never get to me, we needed to come up with a way to support them, a way to give them trauma support," Peters Baker said.
AdHoc works with the prosecutor's office to provide trauma counseling, home repairs and groceries through the Laura E. Mason Foundation.
"Obviously we want crime prevention first, but when crime does happen, no matter if the police are able to solve it or not, we need to wrap our arms around the community and help them," Peters Baker said.
Mims said the partnership works because they help people right when they need it. The program depend on donations to keep it running.
"The person who comes to our doors may not have three minutes, and that's the seriousness of our program," Mims said.
