2009 MetLife Awards: Westside CAN Center Day Laborer Program
Date Published: 12/02/2009
Author: Lauren Kopper
Westside Community Action Network Center, Inc. & Kansas City, Missouri Police Department
2008 MetLife Foundation Community-Police Partnership Special Strategy Award for Diversity Inclusion & Integration
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In the late 1990s, Kansas City saw a dramatic increase in Latino immigrants. Many of these immigrants found their way to the Westside neighborhood which became an ad-hoc day laborer hiring site. Crime problems ensued, with day laborers involved as both victims and, in some cases, perpetrators of theft and violence. The greater community's perceptions and judgments of the new Latino immigrant community were being negatively influenced by their experience with the Westside day laborers, and day laborer victims were fearful of reporting crime. Westside CAN Center teamed up with the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department to analyze the problem and brainstorm responses. They began with outreach and services for the laborers and progressed to the development of a full scale day laborer pickup and drop-in center, which successfully addressed community concerns about violence, disorder and crime. The KCPD's close involvement in the planning and ongoing management of the Center has received national attention, and has helped build bridges between the Latino immigrant community and law enforcement while also addressing neighborhood safety. Within the first year of implementing this program, the partnership saw crime in the neighborhood reduced by over 50%.
Topic: --Community Safety
Type: Case study / model practice