The program released numbers today of results for 2007. The numbers say program workers stopped 22 conflicts from ending in homicide. That might sound dubious, but the program's intervention strategy is designed to talk down retaliatory shootings and keep arguments from escalating. In other cities like Chicago, the strategy has been successful in reducing homicides in program target zones.
Kansas City's program has enrolled 50 more participants and has Neighborhood Action Teams going door to door every month to interact with people. They've also expanded to working with Central High School and DeLaSalle Education Center to help reduce gang violence and recruitment in schools, and they're regularly holding rallies to get more people involved.
At the end of my reporting of the feature, I interviewed City Manager Wayne Cauthen at an Aim4Peace rally. He agreed that mistakes had been made adopting the program and fitting anything into the city's bureacracy was difficult. But he said changes were being made. There was also word that program organizers were starting to reach out to people that could help make inroads into the communities most affected by violence. It looks like those changes are doing something, and it's worth seeing how much better they can make it with another year. My only complaint now is that I wish the city could find them some more money.
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