KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne covers issues surrounding government accountability and solutions. Share your story with Isabella.
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KC Reach is Kansas City's newest solution to reduce crime rates and keep people out of jail.
The program launched at the end of November in partnership with the health department, KCPD, KCFD and KCATA.
"This is the first step to addressing a problem we've ignored for years," said KC Councilman Johnathan Duncan.
KC Reach is a non-law enforcement approach to helping those in a mental health crisis, experiencing poverty or homelessness, or suffering from substance abuse.
Duncan explained the program connects those in a vulnerable community with professional help and resources.
"We can't arrest ourselves out of this issue," Duncan said. "We have to address the underlying causes of crime in order to actually stop crime."
Instead of calling 911, Kansas Citians can call KC Reach at 816-513-6010 if they see or know someone who needs help. A team of mental health experts will respond to the call instead of the police once the situation is deemed safe.
"The goal is to alleviate the strain on our 911 dispatchers and our first responders who sometimes respond to the same individual 20-30 times a day," Duncan said.
Neighbors in the Prospect corridor think the project has the potential to rebuild trust in the community.
"I think there should be other ways to handle the situation rather than simply arresting someone," said David Herbert, a lifelong resident of the Prospect neighborhood.
He shared his story of being arrested and going through the incarceration system.
Herbert, who now works within the community helping others, believes a program like KC Reach would have helped him.
"Rehabilitation is really good," Herbert said. "You go through it, the trials and tribulations, but you have to weather the storm."
The city approved $1.2 million to fund the program's first year through the health department.
Duncan said city staff estimated fewer people going into incarceration would save the city budget (and taxpayers) about 20%.
"That savings needs to go back so we can continue to save more for this program and expand the department health care reach because we have so much of a need," Duncan said.
KC Reach is in its pilot program for the first year and will be active along the Prospect Avenue corridor from 27th Street to 45th Street.
The health department is in the final stages of assembling the KC Reach team, which is set to fully begin operations in 2025.
