Family in a Safer Place
joe arce

Just days after a Westside residence was the target of a drive-by shooting, the family members who narrowly escaped the violence are settling into another home.

Even more important, they feel safer in a new dwelling.

Sandra Ramirez told Hispanic News that she is relieved to be living at another location. Her previous home near 23rd and Holly streets were showered with gunfire about 9 p.m. Feb. 22. Just under two dozens rounds shattered the quiet night as six members of the family were either watching television or settling down for the evening. Kansas City police are investigating the shooting.

No one was physically wounded, but the violence has left scars on their psyche, tearing down the family’s sense of safety. A 3-year-old who heard the bullets crashing through the large picture window and into the walls remains jittery and startled by loud sounds.

Three generations – children, including an infant, their parents and a set of grandparents – lived in the house. The family had been struggling for the past several months because of the scarcity of full-time work. Ramirez wondered how she and her family would relocate, and that’s when two agencies – Mattie Rhodes Center and the Guadalupe Centers Inc. – came together to help.

“We have been here in Kansas City for a short time,” Ramirez said. “I was so surprised that so much was being done for us. It’s a beautiful thing that these two agencies helped us. We didn’t have the money to move out of the house.”

Christina Jasso, homeless program director for Guadalupe Centers Inc., said she received a call from Mattie Rhodes officials about the family and began to arrange for temporary shelter until another move could be arranged.

“We had a vacancy in our transitional housing and we were able to put them in there,” Jasso said. “We will pay all the utility bills and that will allow them to save their money so they can use it for a down payment or deposit for a new place.”

Jasso said she cannot image the family’s fear and anxiety in the wake of the shooting. “I have six children of my own and I would be frantic.”
She said the first concern for the family was moving to a safer place.

“We’ve had this happen before with other victims in the past,” Jasso told Hispanic News. “It rocks your core. You lose sleep, you get sick, you’re stressed out and you can’t even think about what to do next. But the first thing you think about is getting protection for your family by moving away from the area.”

The Guadalupe Centers and Mattie Rhodes Center are two key organizations in a new effort that will streamline emergency help to victims of violent crime. Not yet formally introduced to the community, the endeavor will be called the KC Latino Task Force Against Violent Crime.

Final details of the task force remain in the works, but the Feb. 23 shooting pushed into action what officials at many human service agencies have been discussing for months – how to reach victims faster in their time of greatest need.

“If we don’t collaborate, if all these agencies do not pull together, then we will not be successful in facing the crises or needs of the community,” Jasso said.

For that reason, she shared phone conversations with the Mattie Rhodes Center and Kansas City police officer Chato Villalobos to talk about what the family needs. Soon afterward, the Task Force agencies were at work.

Lisa Sidenstick, the Latino task force advocate for the Mattie Rhodes Center, said she received a call from Villalobos asking for any assistance the task force could offer in terms of mental health services for the family or alternative housing. Villalobos, who has attended the community task force meetings during the past few months, said he was happy to see that within 48 hours of the shooting, the Jimenez-Ramirez family were relocated and services were being provided by two agencies.

Family members said they felt lucky to be alive. Sidenstick added, “So often that’s not the case and with all the rounds of bullets hitting the house inside and out, I believed it was a miracle no one was hurt. We are grateful no one was killed and that we were able to put this family in a better living situation.”

Villalobos said he was relieved to see the victims of the shooting get help.

“In a matter of a day and half, the basic needs of the family were addressed through the collaboration of organizations,” he said. “The thing that made me happy was hearing about the vision of the community coming together to address this type of issue – of getting help to victims who otherwise wouldn’t know these resources existed.”

For several months, Villalobos said he had known about the Latino Task Force Against Crime and remained enthusiastic about the idea, “but you never know until you get that first case of how it’s going to work and whether people are just talking the talk or whether they will walk the walk.”

He said the police department assures victims the investigation is proceeding, but cannot address or promise other services such as counseling or alternative housing. But he said being in contact with organizations through the Task Force allowed him to steer the family in the right direction. Knowing the family is in a safer home gives him a good feeling, he said.

“These organizations were within walking distance of victims’ home, but they didn’t know about the services available,” Villalobos said. “This is our first victory for the Task Force. We were able to help this one family and that should be celebrated.”

Erika Noguera, community services coordinator for Mattie Rhodes Center, said the Guadalupe Center will help the family with housing needs but Mattie Rhodes will provide any mental health services if the family requests it.

“When we hear that something like this has happened in the community, we reach out to them and ask what needs they may have, and we will let them know that there are resources available,” Noguera said.

She said being the victim of a drive-by shooting is traumatic for a family, and the Task Force’s goal is to inform victims what is available in the network of support and provide information so victims don’t have to look aimlessly during a difficult time.

She said although the Task Force is not formally in place, organizers hope it will build partnerships between agencies to help victims and thus lead to some crime prevention efforts as well.

Meanwhile, Ramirez said she is grateful for the community support given to her family so soon after the shooting.
“Everyone has been concerned about my family’s well-being.”

Anyone with information about the shooting or any crime is asked to call 816-474-TIPS or the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department at 816-234-5227. Callers can remain anonymous.