KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Talking to known gang members may seem like a strange way to reduce violence, but that's exactly what the Jackson County, Missouri Prosecuting Attorney's Office is trying to do. Their Director of Communications, Michael Mansur, talked about Stand Against Violence Everyone (SAVE) KC Friday afternoon. The night before, they invited gang members out to the Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church Of Jesus Christ near 27th and Prospect. The meetings with gang members are not publicized, but they're talked about after they happen. Just about 12 people that were not organizers of it showed up Thursday night though. Mansur calls these in-person meetings with gang members 'call-ins.' Kansas City Pet Project CEO Teresa Johnson steps down "They don't have cases against them," he said to reporters Friday, talking about the gang members that come. "So, it's not like we're inviting in people who need to be, who have warrants for their arrests. We're inviting people before that." Thursday night was the third call-in of the year for SAVE KC. They use focused deterrence, where police identify people associated with violent gangs. They offer them alternatives, so they can try to change their lives. "Last night at the call in, we were able to provide food as well as gift cards, not just for Christmas or the holidays, but more or less, to kind of stand on that commitment of addressing basic needs," Executive Director of the Kansas City Black Mental Health Initiative Cecil Wattree said to reporters Friday. Wattree is SAVE KC's Services Sub Committee Chair too. He attended Thursday night's meeting with Mansur, who organized it. Mansur says Justice Assistance Grants (JAG) from the U.S. Department of Justice help fund this initiative. Mansur believes this group's gaining some traction in their message getting out to the people that it needs to. "The individuals who were involved in criminal activity are sharing this information," Mansur said. "They do know about SAVE KC, and they're weary of not just SAVE KC, but they're weary of law enforcement." SAVE KC is a similar program to the No Violence Alliance (NoVA). That effort started in 2012 but ended about five years later. "There is a collaboration going on now, not just SAVE KC, but a number of other groups that also are supportive of SAVE KC," Mansur continued. "Some of them are involved more than others, but there's lot of collaboration going on, a lot of concentration in this community right now to reduce violence." At this same date in 2023, there were 172 homicides in the city, its deadliest year on record. This year there have only been 139 homicides compared to the same date. Non-fatal shootings from 2023 to 2024 are actually up though. Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android Kansas City Police Department Sergeant Phil DiMartino sent FOX4 numbers that shows there have been 547 non-fatal shootings so far this year compared to just 489 during this same time period last year. That's an increase of 12% from year to date (YTD) 2023 to YTD 2024. Mansur says that just because Democratic Prosecuting Attorney Jean Peters Baker is leaving office January 3 does not mean SAVE KC is ending. Democratic Prosecuting Attorney Elect Melesa Johnson is a part of the program. She took part in Thursday night's meeting.