COMBAT Extension
In November, Jackson County voters are being asked to consider a ballot measure that would reauthorize Jackson County COMBAT’s (Community Based Anti-Crime Tax) one-quarter cent sales tax. Earlier in 2026, the CSL Board of Directors voted unanimously to endorse the passage of COMBAT’s extension, and we will be sharing our support leading up to the election and encouraging voters to vote yes.
I want to briefly share with you how CSL and COMBAT work together to create a safer community. First, many voters are aware that COMBAT has been in Jackson County for more than 30 years, and has funded area law enforcement agencies, including the Jackson County Drug Task Force, along with prevention programs for students and adults. I vividly remember going through the D.A.R.E. program in elementary school in the 1990s and most young people in Jackson County went through some sort of anti-drug programming in school.
How does COMBAT impact CSL? CSL was not a COMBAT-funded agency until we started our work at Hawthorne Place Apartments in 2017. CSL has a team of 13 people that work at Hawthorne every day to uplift up kids and families and create brighter futures. Our contract with COMBAT allows us to serve in a role as “hub” for the Independence STRiVIN’ neighborhood. In each designated STRiVIN' neighborhood one COMBAT-funded agency serves as the "hub," responsible for coordinating Striving To Reduce Violence Neighborhood effort in and around the hub location.
We undertake many roles as the hub for our Independence STRiVIN’ neighborhood. CSL has brought together more than 25 organizations (schools, nonprofits, etc.) to partner with families and address barriers to family stability. The most-reported crime was domestic violence, and that continues today, but we have more tools to support families experiencing domestic violence. Our work led to a closing an entrance on the south side of Hawthorne to prevent criminals from fleeing. Additionally, investments were made to provide better property lighting and enhancing existing police patrols with off-duty police.
CSL uses COMBAT funds to grow our Family Stability program, entrepreneurship education (part of our Career Services programming), and Financial Coaching program. When families are more stable and financially healthy, rates of violence go down. We are also normalizing mental health conversations in the community, and making those services available broadly. Our team also engages in door-to-door efforts that help us connect neighbors. Our door-to-door efforts help bring awareness to law enforcement in the community, and encourage residents to “see something – say something.”
We also deploy similar strategies in Northwest Independence by focusing on mental health, family stability, and entrepreneurship. We also educate residents on how to report crime and disorder so they know the process. Law enforcement can’t do its job if neighbors aren’t aware of how to make reports and/or get connected to law enforcement or city staff. We support a variety of annual events at CSL’s BlendWell Comunidad building on 24 Highway in Northwest Independence. We also convene a large group of neighborhood moms that we support and help coach them to be neighborhood leaders and advocates.
Violence prevention takes a lot of shapes and forms, and there is no one effort that yields the results we want. So, we focus on a variety of programs that connect with our community in many ways. We plant seeds of goodness in our community that grow up and yield good fruit that makes a better future.
These efforts are helping communities all throughout Jackson County, and we encourage you to vote yes on extending COMBAT on November 3. Learn more about COMBAT at https://www.jacksoncountycombat.com/.
