The chart above also reflects the economic hardships many of those being referred are experiencing. These struggles have prompted University Health/Truman Medical Center (UH/TMC) to frequently submit STRiVIN’ Referrals as part of Project RISE.

COMBAT provided the funding to get Project RISE up and running in 2019 to deal with the psychological trauma a gunshot wound can inflict. However, Project RISE staff, including the psychologist overseeing the program, have made referrals to get gunshot wound survivors economic assistance not available through UH/TMC. As the COMBAT symposium STRiVIN’ presentation noted, “A person can not focus on their long-term mental or physical wellbeing if they are having a daily struggle meeting their basic needs.”

Ultimately, the goal of the STRiVIN’ referral program is to assist enough individuals and families to not only help turn their lives around but to improve the quality of life in entire neighborhoods—a goal spelled out in the symposium presentation: “We want people to get what could be life-changing or even life-saving assistance… for their benefit… for their next door neighbor’s benefit… for the whole neighborhood’s benefit…”

Gun Violence—No Easy Answers

The first of the symposium’s open discussion topics centered around gun violence in Jackson County.

Although homicides, rightfully so, garner the most attention, there were also 3,061 non-fatal shootings in the county from the start of 2017 through the end of 2022—an annual average, during that six-year period, of 510 shootings in which someone survived a “bullet-to-skin” injury. (A study revealing the high likelihood of survivors being shot again and later becoming a homicide victim prompted COMBAT to start Project RISE.)

With these statistics in mind, COMBAT staff asked symposium attendees for suggestions about how to more effectively reduce gun violence in Jackson County. But the staff stressed not fixating on issues “beyond our control,” such as calls for new state or federal legislation. Therefore, the question COMBAT posed featured this ALL CAPS caveat:

What more can we do—that is IN OUR CONTROL—to reduce gun violence in our community?

“On the surface that seems like a relatively simple question,” said Branden Mims, executive director for Greater Impact, the hub agency for COMBAT’s Midtown STRiVIN’ neighborhood. “But when you start to think about what is ‘in our control,’ among the people in this room, there aren’t many easy answers.”

Assigned seating at the symposium was intended to allow for a variety of viewpoints at each table among police officers, treatment providers, prevention program directors and others. There were some reoccurring themes among the gun violence suggestions:

• Focusing more on non-violent conflict resolution
   
• Trying to reach children at “younger and younger ages.”
   
• “Addressing childhood trauma, creating a safe space for kids to come forward—establishing trust.”
   
• “Put more resources into kids not labeled as ‘high risk’ or the ‘problem.’”
   
• Recognizing that social media “creates conflict.”
   
• Forming a “panel of youth that are from a variety of backgrounds and asking them what they need.”
   
• “Safety prevention for adults—properly storing guns in the home.”
   
• Gun buy-back programs.
   
• “Passing out free gun locks—making them more accessible.”
   
• Download All The Gun Violence Notes/Suggestions Attendees Submitted

Fentanyl—How To Spread The Word

Crack cocaine was frequently cited as the biggest drug problem in Jackson County in 1989. Last week’s symposium dwelled on one of the deadliest drug trends in recent years, the illicit use of the synthetic opioid fentanyl.

COMBAT has been trying to sound the alarm about the danger fentanyl poses through its website, social media and a brochure: Get The Facts. Spread The Word. Warn Those You Know & Love! The prevalence of fentanyl in Jackson County was reflected in four key points made during the symposium:

• “If you can see it, it can kill you.” Just a two milligram dose of fentanyl—0.00007 ounces—can be lethal. That’s about one-sixth the weight of a typical housefly.
   
• In just one investigation conducted in 2022, the COMBAT-funded Jackson County Drug Task Force seized 22 pounds of fentanyl—enough fentanyl for approximately 5 million lethal doses.
   
• Of the fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills the Drug Enforcement Agency lab tested in 2022, 60% contained more than two milligrams of the fentanyl.
   
• According to the Jackson County Health Department, one in five fatal overdoses in the county is a child under 15 years old.

Stating that “prevention starts with at least getting the word out,” COMBAT staff asked those attending the symposium two communications-based questions: 1) What messaging targeting adults can we use to help reduce fentanyl overdoses? 2) What messaging targeting youth can we use to help reduce fentanyl overdoses?

Their responses included both potential taglines/hashtags and preventive programming suggestions:

• Based on the graphic showing a lethal speck of fentanyl on a penny: “#APennyForYourLife.”
   
• “Do you trust your dealer with your life?”
   
• “Are you willing to bet your life?”
   
• “Your first time could be your last time.”
   
• More programs educating both youth and adults about fentanyl and counterfeit pills. Make them better aware of the danger of taking prescription medications not prescribed for them, especially if this “medication” was obtained from someone else who might be passing along fake pills: “Your friend is not your pharmacist.”
   
• Teaching youth how to better cope with stress and anxiety, rather than taking drugs.
   
• Increased distribution of Narcan and teaching people how to use it during an overdose.
   
• Focus on harm reduction, including urging those using drugs or those who know them to have Narcan available when drugs are being used. Saving the person’s life during an overdose is obviously more important—at that moment—than trying to convince them to seek treatment for their substance use disorder: “You can’t send a message to a dead person.”
   
• Download All The Fentanyl Notes/Suggestions Attendees Submitted

COMBAT staff gave a “homework assignment” to program providers who work with youth: “Conduct focus groups, so we can hear directly from kids. We need to hear from them. What do they have to say and what do they believe other kids will listen to about these life-and-death issues?”
 
“Overall, I was very pleased with the turnout and thoughtful participation we had at the symposium,” COMBAT Director Ortega said. “We really want to take the STRiVIN’ initiative to the next level, increase participation and expand into other neighborhoods. And these were the first discussions we've had about gun violence and fentanyl. Those will be continued.”