KCPD, community leaders enact ‘Wellness Wednesday at 31st, Prospect
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In Kansas City, Missouri, city council leaders are considering giving money to a shopping center off Prospect Avenue. It's where most people in the area go to buy their groceries and it's also a hot spot for crime.
There's a group effort to make 31st and Prospect safer for residents, and it involves police, city leaders, and the community.
In the Linwood Square Shopping Center, Wednesday nights are known as "Wellness Wednesdays."
"The interaction with the public thanking us for being up here and making them feel safe that's probably the best thanks you can get as a police officer," said KCPD Major Chris Young.
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Young said they have officers outside and in the Sun Fresh Market.
"A gentleman walked past and said he used to never bring cash up here because he was afraid but now that we have been up here he has no problem bringing cash and he greatly appreciates us being in the area," Young said.
The idea stems from city officials and KC 360, a group aimed at reducing violence and building better community relations.
So far, 41 arrests have been made, some drug related, disorderly conduct, but mostly shop lifting.
"The prosecutor's office has been supportive about taking those state cases ensuring those individuals are prosecuted so that they know better to come back in this area and do that kind of business," Young said.
Some bus stops have also moved from nearby stores to a few blocks east and west, cracking down on loitering.
Don Maxwell is the owner of the shopping center.
"They collected themselves on the corner for 31st and Prospect they sit in the bus stops and hang around and they also came down to patronize the stores," Maxwell said.
Maxwell said there's also security guards patrolling. His goal is to make the area comfortable and livable for people. He says the work so far is paying off but more can be done.
"There's no place to take people that happen to have mental illness issues, we've run out of solutions for that and we are always looking for solutions on how to deal with the mental illness," Maxwell said.
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Maxwell said he's requested money from the city council to go towards stabilizing the shopping center, specifically, the grocery store, which is owned by a nonprofit and has lost quite a bit of money.
"If the grocery store goes away it jeopardizes what we've been able to do with commercial development in the area," Maxwell said.
The money on the line, hundreds of thousands of dollars from different funds and possible grant money that could total up to an additional $750,000 for long-term planning and viability.
The funds are still being discussed amongst city council leaders.
