Metro mothers’ nonprofit celebrates 10 years of fighting violent crime
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One metro mother's crusade against violent crime has reached a milestone she never imagined.
KC Mothers in Charge will observe its first decade of doing its part to fight violent crime in Kansas City, Missouri. Rosilyn Temple, the non-profit's founder, believes the perceived decline in local violent crime totals doesn't tell the entire story.
Temple can't say for sure how many murder scenes she's visited. Her first 10 years in operation were spent playing a role in making Kansas City safer.
Temple started Mothers in Charge in 2014, three years after her 26-year-old son, PeeWee, was killed. The grief and emotional pain sent her into a medical spiral, resulting in a heart attack.
"When it happened to me, I had to do something," she explained on Thursday.
Over the past decade, Temple's mission has been to visit every murder scene in Kansas City, Missouri. Temple meets with mothers of murder victims, offering her sincere empathy and a shoulder of support.
Temple said sometimes, it's as simple as a hug, and seeing kindness from a mother who's suffered from the same.
"I've been trying to guide people to heal and live through the process. That's what Mothers in Charge is all about," Temple said.
Temple feels the problem isn't improving. She complains that while metro homicide totals are currently lower than they were a year ago, shootings are still common. The difference is that some victims survive.
Kansas City Police Department totals from October 17 show that in 2024, 476 shooting victims survived the violence, which is slightly lower than it was a year ago.
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Kendra Jackson appreciates Mothers in Charges' community involvement. Jackson's 18-year-old son, Assan Williams, was killed in 2015 while visiting Kansas City's Seven Oaks Park. That was two months before Williams would have graduated from Northeast High School. Jackson said Temple's kindness was perfectly timed.
"I was just so glad to see somebody who knew exactly what I was going through, and exactly what I was feeling, and amazed that she got out of her bed to come to a stranger's house in the middle of the night to offer her support," Jackson detailed.
"I'm going to keep being here for my community the best I can. I'm going to keep giving everything I can until the last breath of my body," Temple added.
Temple and Jackson both say the murder cases involving their sons are still unsolved.
Mothers in Charge plans a public observance of their first decade next Wednesday, October 23rd at the Serenity Funeral Home on Bannister Road. That gathering is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
