"We're changing so many lives and almost certainly saving a few. And every life made better—or every death prevented—has a ripple effect."
We posed a crucial question in our 2023 COMBAT Community Impact Report: "Where would this community be without COMBAT?"
COMBAT funds more than 90 Prevention and Treatment programs offering services throughout Jackson County, from Kansas City and the suburbs to small towns and rural areas. Combined those programs were expected to serve more than 75,000 men, women and children in our Jackson County community.
Furthermore, the Community Backed Anti-Crime Tax has become an essential source of funding—$22.9 million in 2023—for local law enforcement, the courts, the Prosecutor's Office and award-winning Jackson County Drug Task Force.
» View The 2023 COMBAT Community Impact Online Version
» Download The PDF Version
For all the details, view or down the report right now. Here just a few of the highlights from 2023:
• Progress being made—ahead of schedule—on COMBAT's five-year Strategic Plan, including the launch of new COMBAT website.
• Providing life-saving, if not life-saving assistance as the nationally-recognized STRiVIN' social services referral program surpasses 900 referrals in 2023.
• While the Jackson County Drug Task Force operates mostly in secret, its peers in the law enforcement community recognize the vital work the local unit continues to do, including seizing large quantities of fentanyl.
• COMBAT continues to take a lead role in spreading the word about the deadly danger fentanyl poses, with Jackson County's Medical Examiner providing her unique perspective on rising overdose deaths.