1.  Reach COMBAT Staff Thorugh E-Mail
    During this global public health crisis, we remain committed to COMBAT’s anti-drug and anti-crime mission—just as we were before the pandemic and will continue to be after it passes. COMBAT’s staff is s working remotely. We can best be reached through e-mail. 
    » E-MAIL LIST
  2.  Updates From COMBAT-Funded Agencies
    MOST RECENT UPDATE MARCH 26 • 4:44 P.M.
    COMBAT funds nearly 100 programs throughout Jackson County. We will be posting changes those agencies are having to make in response to the Coronavirus pandemci as they are reported to us. 
    » REPORTS FROM AGENCIES
  3.  Community Resource List
    Kansas City Councilman Brandon Ellington (3rd District At-Large) has created a flyer with helpful resources to assist people during the pandemic, including information about free meal options, food and toiletry pantries, assistance for businesses and workers, internet access, emergency loans/grants and more. 
    » DOWNLOAD FLYER (PDF)
  4.  FREE Meals Being Offered For Youths 18 & Under
    While schools are closed due to the pandemic, the Missouri Department Of Health & Senior Services (DHSS) will be offering free breakfasts and hot lunches (all to-go) to youths 18 and under at locations throughout Kansas City. All meals are carry-out to avoid "congregate eating." 
    » LOCATIONS & MORE DETAILS
Community Backed Anti-Drug Anti-Crime Anti-Violence Tax
  1. Coronavirus

    COMBAT Agencies Making Adjustments In Response To Pandemic 


    COMBAT funds nearly 100 programs throughout Jackson County that offer prevention and treatment services. We will be posting changes those agencies are having to make in response to the Coronavirus pandemic as they are reported to us. Some agencies have closed their physical locations, but are continuing to try and deliver services via the phone or through online options like Zoom. 
    » MORE
  1. Pandemic Could Really Sicken The Economy Too

    Pandemic 'Financial Hit' Coming


    They have or, at least, had jobs—the men and women who call Healing House home, the women seeking a fresh start at the Sisters In Christ recovery houses, the men undergoing treatment at Benilde Hall.  The COVID-19 pandemic’s economic tole is already be felt by many of these individuals as they live with uncertainty while striving to continue their substance use disorder (SUD) recoveries. And the agencies serving them know “there’s going to be a financial hit—a hard hit—coming.”
    » MORE
  1. 2020 Census

    Everyone Counts & Needs To Be Counted


    “We need good data to make good decisions,” points out COMBAT Director Vince Ortega. With data now driving COMBAT’s decisions about where resources can most effectively be allocated, accurate numbers—such as statistics about population density—are crucial. That data collection starts with the U.S. Census Bureau. States that are undercounted, due to people not participating in the 2020 Census, could lose billions of dollars in federal funding and seats in the House of Representatives. Also, inaccurate data would impact crime analysts, like COMBAT’s Holli Crowley, seeking to identify correlations between Census data and criminal activity.
    » MORE
  1. Drug Task Force Record-Setting Year

    Drug Task Record-Setting $30.4 Million In Seizures


    The Jackson County Drug Task Force had never before seized more than $20 million in illegal substances in a single year. But the Task Force discovered nearly $12½ million worth of  methamphetamine during a single search last fall as that record-setting day led to what would be a record-setting year in 2019—with $30.4 million in illegal substances confiscated or purchased in “controlled buys.” COMBAT Director Vince Ortega emphasizes most of those drugs were seized before they could be distributed on the streets, “which is when we would see the surge in violence associated with drug trafficking.”  Therefore, he says the COMBAT-funded Drug Task Force is “very much an anti-violence task force too.”
    » MORE
  1. CALENDAR
  1. FUNDING DISTRIBUTION

COMBAT Funding Pie Chart

Half Toward Enforcement

COMBAT is supported through a quarter-center sales tax that Jackson County voters first approved in 1989 and have since renewed multiple times—the last time being in 2016 when they voted (with record 77% support) extending the COMBAT text another nine years. 

The tax generates more than $20 million a year to support prevention, treatment and anti-violence programs. The County Legislature approved a forumlar to distribute the funding, with half the revenue going toward law enforcement efforts.

A quarter-cent sales tax equates to an extra 25 cents per $100 spend. An estimated 30% of COMBAT revenue is generated by non-Jackson County resident paying the tax when shopping in the county.
» MORE

  1. #STRIVINTogether

STRIVING Together To Reduce Violence In Neighborhoods

Initiative Focuses On Need For Joint Effort To Reduce Violence In Neighborhoods

This COMBAT initiative brings together school administrators, police officers, elected officials, mental health professionals, social workers, faith-based leaders and concerned citizens to address violence in Jackson County’s most vulnerable neighborhoods. 

With a focus on developing a collaborative, comprehensive and coordinated plan in each “hot spot,” STRIVIN’ recognizes that no one individual or single agency can “save a neighborhood.” It takes working together—striving together—to make any neighborhood a safe place to call home.
» MORE