Community violence creates profound negative impact on our quality of life.

It limits economic growth and strains public services.

On this episode of inspire, we talk about a project in the capital city with a mission to increase the peace.

Stay with us.

[Music] Inspire is sponsored by the Raymond C and Marguerite Gibson Foundation and by the estate of Ray and Ann Goldsmith.

[Music] Hello and welcome to inspire.

It's always special being here with my co-hosts Betty Lou Pardue and Danielle Norwood.

Behind every statistic is a story.

This week on inspire, we're taking a closer look at violence in Northeast Kansas and the people working every day to stop it.

The YWCA of Northeast Kansas recently launched the Capital Peace Project.

It's a project that takes a different approach to decreasing community violence, impacts community violence through education, outreach, and support.

Here to share the mission of the Capital Peace Project and the YWCA effort to increase the peace is Courtland Davis, director of the Capital Peace Project.

We're so glad to see you.

Courtland and I are old friends, so this is wonderful to see you in this role.

And why is this such an important role for you to have taken on?

I think personally, there's some lived experience.

You know, we talk about proximity to violence.

You talk about the normalization of violence, and that's something that's definitely reality for me, and a lot of folks, in our community.

So that was kind of the personal part, as I've experienced this and honestly, on either side of it.

Right.

And so when we came upon or happened upon, CVI, and the programing, that CVI produces...And say what CVI is... CVI is Community Violence I ntervention.

Okay.

And when we started looking at this model, we knew that it was, I think not right, just for Topeka, but, for the nation, for communities in general.

So I was 110% behind it.

Yes.

So tell me, what is the Capital Peace Project?

And when people hear about community violence, the first thing they probably default to is domestic violence.

So how does this differ from that or even intersect with that?

We're finding there are intersections that overlap, right?

I mean, you know, we we oftentimes will break violence out into its own little category, which does allow, for programing to be built around specific types of violence and which is great.

Community violence.

There's some more what some people would call urban violence, or oftentimes it looks like, group or gang activity, violence or violence, revolves around those type of activities.

Which is not, you know...Topeka is no exception when it comes to that.

Right?

Yeah.

And so you've experienced this, you're saying yourself, but you mentioned earlier that when you joined the Y, you really had no idea that these were the things that needed to happen and you wanted to get more men involved, at the Y in this.

Can you talk a little bit about that?

You know, it's hard for me to say that I wanted to get more men involved specifically, but I can speak to my, specific experience.

In sitting in the trainings through the Center for Safety and Empowerment.

And as those trainings were happening, I think we spoke about it early.

I felt like climbing under the table on a couple of occasions.

I did not fully understand what domestic violence is.

I had an idea.

Right?

You're abusing your partner.

Oftentimes, the man abusing the wife or or other domestic partner.

But it's there's so much more at play, right?

There's so many other things happening.

And domestic violence is not just that that's a part of it, but there are all the other things that are considered like that power, dynamic or control which are abusive.

They are, violent.

And, and those are things that I wasn't aware of.

When we started looking more specifically at community violence, you know, I started with, with that understanding that I had working around our CSE advocates and leadership.

I kind of took a step back and said, well, you know what, where the overlaps, right?

These two programs are going to be functioning in the same building.

And so we can't silo them.

Right.

We need to have a better understanding of, what each program can do to be impactful.

I think that had I not had those previous years of experience right before the CVI program came into our building, that it might have looked a little bit different.

And I kind of said that earlier.

What are the answers?

What are the collaborations like What is the public health approach, to addressing, domestic violence and sexual violence?

I don't have all those answers, but I think we are definitely asking the right questions.

Questions.

Right.

And before we went on air, also, we're talking about it's not just a lot of people just think it's the man toward the woman.

But you know, pop culture the Bachelorette just got canceled because of her violence toward the man.

So can you expand on that?

It's kind of hard for me because I tend to... I don't know.

You know, I've never experienced that.

I do know that, as far as what's reported, it's a small number.

Not that it doesn't need to be addressed and shouldn't be addressed.

But is I a man walking in a man's shoes and living a man's, lived experience?

I know that my understanding of where I'm at right now in my life is, if we're not addressing domestic violence or sexual violence as it relates to men being the victims or survivors of, then we're not really addressing it.

And maybe that's a little shortsighted, but, I, I feel like I can stand on that, that we, we should address those disparities.

And it's a heck of a disparity when you look at, the number of, men who are abused by, a female partner versus the opposite.

Right.

That's kind of kind of where I am with that.

Okay.

Let me add another element to this conversation.

What role does race play in terms of community violence?

We know what the data shows.

This, is that there's a huge disparity.

Right?

So, community violence more specifically deals with gun violence.

And black and brown boys and men are affected by this at a far, far greater rate, than their counterparts.

So, you know, on that part as far as these worst case scenarios, oftentimes when you see the death, the fatalities, those are black and brown boys and men.

When you look at the other part of it, right, like, why is this happening?

You start asking these questions and you start to see, well, here's one example.

When we started out doing this work, we took, a redlining map of Topeka, right.

And we put that map out there, and then we took a heat map for violent crimes, and we laid it on top of the redlining map.

And it was the same map, right?

So, you know, what we do know is wherever there's poverty or oppression, you have increased levels of violence.

It's the exposure thing.

So we this approach takes a public health approach, to, to curbing, community violence.

So we're looking at things like access to jobs, access to food, health care, all those things that are the social determinants of health.

And when you see limited access to these things, you see higher, rates of violence.

You know, one of the things we, we did have guests on were probably a year or so ago about the grocery store that was trying to come to Topeka, still hasn't happened.

And so there's still food deserts here.

More food deserts than need to be in this town.

Is the capital project doing anything to try and help that?

Or can they do anything?

What?

What specific things are you guys putting into place to help, these different social determinants of health?

So the first, the first and most important thing with, with this type of programing is the relationships, right?

And and not just, the relationships that the team have with one another, but the relationships that we have for folks who work in the area of Topeka that we're serving.

And allowing them to to be the voice.

Right, allowing them to guide us to what the solutions are.

You know, access to food is at the very top.

Not not the first, but it's at the top of, of issues that we're having in certain parts of the city.

And in our conversations.

Right.

We engage with those at highest risk.

So we take the area of the city that has the highest rate of violence.

And, and we work inside of that area, and we're engaging folks who also we're at the highest risk of violence.

And in those conversations, sometimes casual, you, you begin to understand what happens when certain certain folks don't have access to certain things.

Right?

You know, where me and my family are at and where I'm at now in life if things get tight.

You know, maybe it's borrow some money from a family member.

Maybe it's.

Do we have a line of credit somewhere?

So we have those options.

There are a lot of folks who don't, and so we don't have access to certain things.

And then you have the exposure and the normalization of violence.

You know, folks are in survival mode, and sometimes they do, not great things in order to gain access to the things that they need.

For me, like I said, it might be borrowing some money from somebody for somebody else that might be taking some money.

Right.

Or shoplifting.

And so we do understand the importance of it.

What we can do is try to work with folks to see if there's resources out there.

Right.

What what can we do to help put some food on the table.

If they're a program participant or someone we're working directly with.

It's also our understanding, their immediate social network.

So their families or friends.

Who's in your household?

We also need to look after them.

If you can do that, if you can do that and do that, well, you will see reductions in violence.

[Music] Violence can feel like a hidden issue, but we're bringing it into the open and talking about solutions.

We'll have more coming up on Inspire.

[Music continues] [Music continues] Today on inspire, we're focusing on how the YWCA of Northeast Kansas is working to bring safety, healing and hope to our communities.

And we continue with our chat with Courtland Davis, who's director of the YWCA of Northeast Kansas's Capital Peace Project.

One of the things that we talked about in the break, and I'm probably going to get in trouble for this, but several years ago, almost seven years ago now, that I was serving on a particular board, one of the things that we were focusing on was bringing in, you know, grocery stores to food deserts and talking about the levels of violence in our community.

And here we are seven years later, almost dealing with the same concerns.

What tangible things do we need to do to move the needle forward?

Because, you know, there could be a lot of things that I'm not seeing behind the scenes, but I'm not seeing enough change that we can actually be like, hey, this is what we're doing.

Yeah, I think, you know, in the instance of food or food deserts, it almost starts to seem like it's kind of an anomaly, right?

Like there is a group that has been been advocating for and trying to put in place, for years.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You know, what?

What obstacles are there?

You know, again, these are underserved parts of our city and our population.

And, it seems like it's an uphill climb, right?

Whenever you want to try to do something in the benefit of the folks that I, that I'm speaking of.

So I, I do know that food insecurity is a big part of it.

I wish I had, you know, the answer.

The one fit all.

I do know that accountability is a big part of it.

I know that giving voice to that community is a big part of it.

The the folks who need to hear these stories and hear these messages, are they hearing it?

If so, is it falling on deaf ears?

And if those ears are deaf, maybe those ears need to be replaced with someone who actually does care.

And the other part is, you know, just like housing, that's another huge thing, especially in our focus area.

So what are we doing as, as a city, to hold landlords accountable?

For, some of the, the very oppressive, circumstances that folks are living under.

You know, we canvas a lot in our focus area, and it's really just conversations.

We do pop ups and we'll just come up with throw some stuff on the grill and have some chips and drinks, and folks can come up and just have a bite to eat.

But it's also those can make those conversations that we're having.

So are those stories, you know, is that reality landing where it should be Landing?

And if so, and nothing's being done, we need a shift.

Well, I think there are actually, there are things that are starting to be done in Topeka.

I mean, they are putting together some low income housing, not low income housing, but housing that is more affordable in this town.

In different sections of the town.

So there is some movement on that.

Whereas with the grocery store, there is no movement at all with that.

So I think the city council and some of the city leaders recognize that housing is an issue, and really they're addressing that because we can't get people to move here so that we can, you know, fulfill the jobs that need to be.

So, you know, that's the other thing.

So I would think unemployment is also another biggie.

And yeah.

Is that one of your, issues as well?

Yeah.

I mean, it's one of the services that are, that are at the top, right, that we're offering participants when they come into the programing and to our program is, you know, what is your employment look like now?

What is your employment outlook and how do we, assist you in navigating to, sustainable employment.

But, you know, you start looking at the layers again with folks who are in survival mode, the things that often make sense and seem easy, if they really made that much sense and were that easy, folks will be doing it right.

So we're not always addressing, the barriers.

For instance, you know, when, you know, and how do I say this?

There's, there's particular landlords in our city that own properties, and there's a lot of them in the area that we worked in, which is Topeka Boulevard to Lincoln, from 10th Street, to 2nd Street.

And when you're actually on the ground and folks are kind enough to invite you into their living space and you start seeing, you know, for instance, here's a building, where the windows are busted out and I, you know, I look at, you know, my my guy and I'm like, is this it must have been hard to get through winter.

You know, when he goes, he says, his answer to me is, well, which winter?

Because it's been like that for so long.

So it's like, the neglect, that's there.

And, you know, when we talk about affordable housing, we also have to ask a question.

All affordable to who exactly?

So you have some folks who are, you know, their, money is subsidized in one way or the other.

They have X amount of dollars.

And so, there's this predatory thing that happens where you're at the bottom of that income chain.

You've probably been evicted before because you don't have, all that you need to sustain your home.

And now you just landing wherever, wherever you got.

Right.

Whatever's whatever's out there, whoever will accept you.

And it's just kind of shameful.

I honestly, it's disgraceful the amount of neglect.

It is.

And here we are, the capital city.

So thus, right on your chest, the Capital Peace Project.

How can those of us here at the table and those watching, how can we help and get involved?

What can we do?

So you can go to the YWCA website and we have our own tab.

That's on that website.

You can email directly at cvi@ywcaneks.org and we're really just a phone call or an email away.

You know, we're highly focused in a particular area of Topeka, but that does not limit us.

From supporting folks outside of that, right now, you know, we're operating under, it's Byrne Gift Grant, a Department of Justice grant.

That funds us were funded through the end of 2026.

And so this first year is really, you know, proving, impact and, and if the, the program is viable, which even in these few short months, we've already proven.

But the sustainability piece, right, is, is always a concern.

For myself, for the YWCA and the team.

So somebody has some deep pockets and wants to to throw us some money.

We're all for it.

If they would like for us to come in and present and tell them about our program, what we do, what we don't do, if that will, inspire them to give generously we're willing to do that as well.

So, yeah, it's for right now.

I mean, as we get later in the year, we'll probably try to develop some kind of, volunteer, platform or a space where folks can come in and volunteer.

But in these first few months, it's it's boots to the ground.

And so we're kind of grinding every day just trying to, make sure that we're, identifying and, working with those highest risk, and really trying to, as they say, I was told we're building the plane as we're flying.

It's the first time we've done this in Topeka.

They've never had a CVI program before, so.

And it's just it's me and three other staff we do have and support staff at the YWCA, but we're paving the way for something new and different.

So, it's so other nonprofits are there collaborative efforts?

What does that look like?

Absolutely.

So a part of this work, we didn't just do this.

There was over two years that, CIVIC, so the Community Inspired Violence Intervention Coalition.

They are the I'm the call they I'm a part of that coalition as well are kind of the driving force behind the CVI Street team which is with the Capital Peace Project is, we spent over two years, not just doing the research and digging into the data and, and making sure we had a real understanding of what's happening in our Topeka.

When you talk about happening in Topeka, when you talk about violence, but, we also spent those two years engaging other organizations, stakeholders, the community.

I mean, we did a series of townhall.

We wanted to make town halls, to make sure that we were moving in the direction that those most affected by violence felt appropriate.

And with that, we, brought on a lot of partners, throughout the city.

And, once a month we have our partnership meeting.

The civic partnership meeting.

And there's 40 plus agencies and even more individuals who, who've signed on to that.

And those are conversations, with other organizations centering community violence.

And so making sure that they're, they're educating, they understand that what we're doing and, also understand the needs of the folks that we're representing.

You're amazing.

Thank you for what you're doing.

And we have been visiting with Courtland Davis.

We're so glad you're here and doing what you're doing along with the YWCA of course.

They're doing wonderful things to create positive impact on community violence in Northeast Kansas.

Coming up, we have a few takeaways to share with you.

Please stay with us.

[Music] [Music continues] And we're back with Courtland Davis with a few last thoughts on the Capital Peace Project.

So I was wondering, I mean, this is new for Topeka, right?

But I'm thinking other cities across the country must be doing the some of this as well.

Is there anything that you've been able to pick up from other cities and what they're doing that you can bring to Topeka to make this project, you know, much more successful?

Yeah, no, that's a great question.

And we have, a partner, Trajectory Changing Solutions for TCS.

And they're out of Chicago.

You know, the birth of this work was kind of in Chicago about 30 years ago with Project Ceasefire, which then became Cure Violence.

And so there's about three decades of this work.

And, Norman Kerr, who was the executive director of TCS, he's he's been such a godsend for me.

But also for the team and in the ecosystem in general, because he is one of the curators of when they turn from, Project Ceasefire to Cure Violence, he's been along for that whole journey.

So, they're street teams throughout the whole country.

And, you know, post Covid, when we saw that extreme uptick in violence and then we saw that downward decline, a lot of that was due to the work that see the CVI Street teams were doing.

In community.

What's one thing that they've done that you think is really, you know, valuable that could help us here?

Helping us understand, the relationship and almost sometimes it's, a transactional thing that happens, with the team, and those most affected by violence.

I think that's one been one of their biggest contributions.

We had the data, so we knew, what we were looking at.

But like those inner workings, how are we, you know, when you when I tell someone that, well, our street team, their job is to find the most violent people in the city and interact with them and engage with them, because we do know that less than 2% of our population is responsible for 80, 80 plus percent of the violence.

Even if they're not the one doing it themselves, the influence that they might have.

So if you can start, as we say, treating, that part of your population, you'll start seeing those decreases, in violence overall, it's what types of violence are we talking?

Most specifically gun violence.

You know, during the Biden administration, something happened that had never happened before.

They declared gun violence as a public health crisis, and they opened up, an office of gun violence.

What that did was it, enabled street teams and folks to do the work that we do, kind of legitimatizes as a matter of fact, sort of CVI or community violence intervention, that language wasn't used before the Biden administration.

These are just street teams doing what they do.

A lot of the private funding was private.

And so it opened the doors for federal funding to come down the pipeline to fully staffed these teams.

And then if you look at Kansas City, Missouri, Aim For Peace.

That's their CVI, model.

And they, they are actually operate out of the county health department.

And they have a staff of 60 plus.

They work in three different zones.

And year after year, especially 2025, they did see, decreases in violence due to the work.

So the street teams are kind of that ground level work with the ones doing that engagement part.

But the things that we need to be successful come from our partnerships.

So we have a partnership with Stormont Vail.

So we do trauma center interventions as well.

So if you show up at the hospital with a gunshot wound, we're showing up too because what we do know is, is that going golden hour of engagement, right.

If you're laying in a hospital bed with bullet holes, and you might be rethinking some of your choices, that opens a window of opportunity for us to come in and do our assessment and start, you know, getting the things that this person needs to, to pivot, to something more productive.

We have a partnership with the county jail.

So we have folks who are releasing back into the community, who have violence in their background.

And we will meet with them while they're still incarcerated.

Right.

Because we know you're about to get out.

And we've seen in the past the harm that can follow you.

And so how are we engaging with these folks?

We have a fundamental belief that people aren't born violence, violent.

It is your exposure and proximity to violence, and then the normalization of it through a lot of different sources, like social media, music.

Right.

So we've, you know, ours.

Yeah.

Our stand is this isn't normal, right?

So, you know, trying to change that narrative.

We also have an MOU with, Topeka Police Department where we don't share anything.

One up.

I want to stress that for our program participants, and we're not we don't share information with them as far as what you may or may not be doing.

But the new chief who understands these programs, they have them in cities where he worked before.

We have an MOU that says we'll get data sets from them.

So 48 hours, monthly, and then quarterly.

And what that data looks like is what's happening.

Who's it happening to and where is it happening?

Because that cluster, if you look at it like Covid, that cluster of violence, we're going to go to that cluster and want to start engaging folks and figuring out what do we need to do to to, see a downward trend instead of the upward trend that we've been seeing?

There's you so much more I want to ask.

We have just open things up, but we definitely have to have you back for this conversation or that's all the time that we have for today.

Big thanks going out to Courtland Davis for joining us on Inspire.

And as a reminder, you can watch this program again at watch.ktwu.org And if you're so inspired to learn more about our guests, find out what's coming up on future shows and get access to additional content.

Be sure to visit our website at ktwu.org/inspire Inspiring women, inspiring intervention, healing and empowering communities.

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Thank you for watching.

[Music continues] [Music continues] Inspire is sponsored by the Raymond C and Marguerite Gibson Foundation and by the estate of Ray and Ann Goldsmith.