JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Members of ICARE came together Monday night to plan for the future after Jacksonville’s murder rate dropped significantly, according to data.
ICARE, a group of local faith leaders in Jacksonville, spent time at Christ the King Catholic Church discussing what problem the group would tackle next as murders have decreased by almost 50% since this time last year.
The group settled on three primary areas of focus:
- Criminal justice
- Housing and homelessness
- Health care and mental health care
James Boddie Jr., the church pastor, said these topics have growing concerns.
“The population is growing and we don’t have enough housing for people who are working and have income, but not just enough to pay for a mortgage on a home. So how to work for affordable housing,” Boddie said.
Robin Scott and Linda Allen felt the same way.
“I’m concerned about our reaction to mental health in the community, violence in the community. Those are some of the things that bring me here,” Scott said.
Scott and Allen said they are glad to have an organization where people have a voice.
“I would like to see civil citations. We have civil citations for kids to keep them out of jail, keep them away from getting an arrest record, and the expense of court costs. I would love to see that happen with people 18 and older who are first-time offenders, nonviolent, mainly some kind of paper problem with their driver’s license or car tags or something like that,” Allen said.
At the end of the meeting, the organization agreed to focus on addressing housing and homelessness in Jacksonville.