Our Story

The Power of Partnership: How CRT and City Hall are Transforming Kansas City

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The Origin: A Foundation of Collaboration (2014–2016)

The story of the Community Resource Team (CRT) began over a decade ago with a simple but powerful idea: those who live in a community are the ones best equipped to heal it. In 2014, CRT was officially launched through a federal Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) grant administered by the U.S. Department of Justice. Running from 2014 through 2016, this foundational grant brought together a cross-sector collaboration of neighborhood leaders, social service providers, academics, and law enforcement to target the root causes of crime and disinvestment along the Prospect Corridor.

When the federal funding ended in 2016, many initiatives would have dissolved—but the representative neighborhoods refused to let the momentum stop. Recognizing the deep trust and collective efficacy they had built, the seven coalition neighborhoods—Boston Heights/Mt. Hope, Ivanhoe, Key Coalition, Oak Park, Santa Fe, Washington Wheatley, and Wendall Phillips—made a deliberate choice to stick together. They chose to maintain their partnership, keeping the spirit of collaboration alive while looking for the next opportunity to deeply impact their community.

The Spark: Rebuild KC (2024)

That opportunity arrived nearly a decade later. Because our seven neighborhoods chose to stay united, we stood ready as a proven, cohesive coalition when City Hall introduced the Rebuild KC grant program. Awarded to CRT in 2024, this pivotal city grant served as the launchpad for our new, specialized neighborhood operations.

While the original DOJ grant focused on scanning and analyzing the root causes of community safety issues, the 2024 Rebuild KC grant gave us the mechanical teeth to implement hands-on solutions. It allowed our non-profit coalition to purchase vital, commercial-grade equipment—including specialized trucks—empowering us to actively tackle deep-seated blight, hazardous tree stumps, and illegal trash accumulation right within our own borders.

A Different Motive: People Over Profit

As a registered non-profit organization, CRT operates on an entirely different wavelength than traditional businesses or outside contractors. For typical commercial companies, profit margins and financial bottom lines serve as the ultimate barometer for success.

Our barometer is entirely different: we measure success by community empowerment.

Because our heart is in the neighborhoods we serve, we intentionally hire directly from within our own community. By providing jobs and training to local residents, we aren’t just cleaning up neighborhoods—we are reinvesting in the people who live in them, sparking economic growth, and building lasting collective efficacy from the inside out.

The Philosophy: Fighting Blight to Defeat Crime

With the equipment secured by the Rebuild KC grant and a dedicated local workforce in place, CRT put a proactive, data-driven philosophy into motion. We understand that illegal dumping and unmaintained lots are not just visual eyesores—they are environmental crimes that directly degrade a neighborhood's safety. Grounded in the "Broken Windows" theory, we know that when a property is left abandoned or buried under commercial debris, it signals neglect, which inadvertently invites further crime and instability into the area.

By deploying our neighborhood-led teams to execute high-level vegetative abatement, professional stump grinding, and bulk garbage disposal, we aren't just cleaning up trash—we are actively reclaiming the safety of our streets. We are disrupting the cycle of crime before it can take root.

A Proven Model, Ready for the Entire City

The journey of CRT proves that the most effective solutions are born when local government listens to and equips its residents. Guided by our core motto, "For us, with us, by us," we have proven that neighbors are the best stewards of their own blocks when given the proper tools.

What began as a targeted federal pilot program along the Prospect Corridor has survived, evolved, and matured into a blueprint for systemic change. Because of the foundational success made possible by City Hall’s investment, CRT has officially expanded its operations to offer these critical services city-wide.

Blight and crime do not stop at neighborhood boundaries, and neither do we. As we scale our operations across Kansas City, we carry forward the same foundational truth that started it all in 2014: when City Hall, federal partners, and local neighborhoods collaborate as true equity partners, we can transform any distressed property into a safe, vibrant community asset.