The 16th annual Memorial Service and Candlelighting for Crime Victims’ Rights Week will be held on Monday, April 27.
The event will bring the Wyandotte County community, families of fallen victims and community officials together to remember those who have lost their lives to homicide in 2014, a spokesman said.
The event is free and open to the public, a spokesman said.
The Crime Awareness Coordinating Effort (C.A.C.E.), a program service of Friends of Yates Inc., and co-sponsored by the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Victim Services Unit, will sponsor the event, which will be held at the Forest Grove Baptist Church, 1417 N. 9th St., Kansas City, Kan. The Rev. Desmond Lamb is pastor of the church.
The event begins with a light dinner from 5 to 6 p.m., followed by the program from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
The Crime Awareness Coordinating Effort (C.A.C.E.) was developed after the death of a 10- year-old girl in Kansas City, Kan., about 17 years ago. This tragic event created great concern throughout the Kansas City, Kan., community, a spokesman said.
The spokesman said that in response to the outrage, a forum was called by Friends of Yates Inc. and members of the Baptist Minister’s Union on Oct. 27, 1998, to bring together local businesses, law enforcement personnel, community leaders and concerned citizens to begin the dialogue about how crime was hurting the Kansas City, Kan., community.
More important, Friends of Yates Inc. wanted to challenge these community leaders to design a strong plan to address the violence in the area, the spokesman said. Through the efforts of Friends of Yates Inc.; a collaborative partnership was formed and became known as the Crime Awareness Coordinating Effort (C.A.C.E.).
This year’s memorial service will remember the 38 victims of homicide, serve as a support system for victims’ families and educate the Wyandotte County community on the progress made to diminish the threat of violence throughout the community, the spokesman said.
This year’s guests will include District Attorney Jerome Gorman, KCK Police Chief Terry Zeigler, Sheriff Don Ash and Vivian Van Vleet, Kansas U.S. Attorney’s Office Victim Witness coordinator. The event is free and open to the public.
For more information about this and other programs and services sponsored by Friends of Yates Inc., or for ways to support, volunteer or donate to the agency; contact the administrative office at 913-321-1566 or visit the website at www.friendsofyates.org.