In Kansas City, a wave of evictions could push gun violence to new extremes this year
Housing problems and gun violence go hand in hand, experts say. And in Kansas City, both may be about to get even worse
May 25, 2021
It was boarded up, filled with trash, everything in complete disarray.
But Murrell, a part-time home renovator, knows this house on a corner of Prospect Avenue in Kansas City’s Washington-Wheatley neighborhood can be a happy home again. He spent his early childhood nearby and remembers the families who lived here.
Now 42, Murrell has seen the neighborhood hollowed out over the years by a historic loss of Black homeownership, high rates of evictions, and deteriorating housing conditions.