Justice Together still has it together.
The coalition of about 40 Christian, Jewish and Baha’i faith congregations has a new cause — addressing gun violence in Wichita — along with its ongoing commitments to improving the city’s performance on the issues of affordable housing and homelessness.
Justice Together held its annual Nehemiah Assembly on Monday night, nearly filling the Wichita State University Metroplex.
For myself, the most compelling part of the evening was a heartfelt and intensely personal story on the impact of gun violence, from Theresa Canidy of St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church.
“When I worked at Wesley Medical Center, I was in human resources, but there were times that they had so many victims in the ER that I had to step in and help perform CPR on gunshot victims,” she said.
“And you know, if you have never heard a mother scream when she finds out that her child has been killed in gun violence, it is something I hope you never experience.”
She also told the story of her grandson, who was shot at by a group of young men while putting gas in his car at QuikTrip.
As he passed by the men, “He said, ‘What’s up?’ They said it back. ‘What’s up?’ Simple, normal, nothing out of place,”
Canidy recounted. “He paid for his gas. He walked back outside, past those same young men again, and just as he finished putting the gas in his car, they started shooting at him. Needless to say, he was terrified. So thank God he wasn’t hit, but something in him changed that day.”
At the time, he was a student at Bethel College in North Newton, which is run by the historically pacifist Mennonite Church.
At 22, he was so shaken by being shot that “he made a decision to move back to Texas to be with his mom, because he no longer felt safe here,” Canidy said.
“Yes, we are thankful that he wasn’t killed that night,” she said. “But just because he lives doesn’t mean he wasn’t changed, because gun violence doesn’t only take lives, it takes your peace. Our community lost out on a bright young person who would have added a lot to Wichita.
“Add it up over hundreds of shootings and families. Think about how much potential is completely lost because our city hasn’t totally addressed the gun violence problem here.”
Housing and homelessness
The main action line Tuesday came on the homelessness and housing issue.
Justice Together got two City Council members, J.V. Johnston and Joseph Shepard, to publicly commit to considering another sales tax vote to provide operational support to the Second Light shelter and multi-agency center serving homeless residents, and $10 million a year to increase affordable housing.
Remarkably, they’re saying this against a background of the March 3 sales tax election disaster.
If that 1%, eight-year tax had passed, homelessness and affordable housing would have gotten $150 million of the $850 million package, which also included money for public safety, convention center improvements, property tax cuts and a new performing arts center.
