The Wyandotte County community, families of fallen victims and community officials will come together on Monday, April 25, to remember those who have lost their lives to homicide in 2020 and 2021.
The Crime Awareness Coordinating Effort (C.A.C.E.), a program of Friends of Yates, will hold its 22nd annual Memorial – Candle Lighting Service and Forum in recognition of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.
This year’s theme and panel discussion will be centered around “Rights, Access, Equity, for all Victims – Help Crime Survivors find their Justice.”
The service is co-sponsored by the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department’s Victim Services Unit, along with the Wyandotte County Office of the District Attorney’s Victim Assistance Program and Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office.
The event will be held at Forest Grove Baptist Church, 1417 N.. 9th St., Kansas City, Kansas, where the Rev. Desmond Lamb Sr. is the host pastor. The event will begin with a light dinner from 4:30 p.m. -5:45 p.m., followed by the program from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
The Crime Awareness Coordinating Effort (C.A.C.E.) was developed in response to the death of a 10-year-old girl in Kansas City, Kansas. This tragic event created great concern throughout the Kansas City, Kansas, community, a spokesman stated. A forum was called by Friends of Yates 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 plaguing the Kansas City, Kansas, community.
Friends of Yates wanted to challenge community leaders to collaborate and design a strong plan to address violence in the area, the spokesman stated. Through the efforts of Friends of Yates, 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 92 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.
This year’s guest panelists will include Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree; Wyandotte County Assistant District Attorney Candice Alcaraz; Capt. Rodney Smith, KCK Police Department; Wyandotte County Sheriff Daniel Soptic; Damon Daniel, president, AdHoc Group Against Crime; Wendy Medina, program supervisor, KCKPD Victim Services Unit; Sharron Villegas, victim-witness coordinator, Wyandotte County District Attorney’s office; and Rebbecca Johnson, program director, Friends of Yates Inc.
In addition, KCKPD homicide detectives will be onsite to speak with families and community members regarding open homicide cases. Other program participants will include LaDora Lattimore, Friends of Yates, executive director-CEO emeritus, and Arica Roland, Friends of Yates executive director.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.friendsofyates.org or email [email protected].