JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – ICARE members met Monday night to plan for the future after Jacksonville murder rate dropped significantlyaccording to data.

ICARE, a group of local faith leaders in Jacksonville, spent time at Christ the King Catholic Church discussing what issue the group would tackle next, as homicides are down nearly 50% since this time last year.

The group decided on three main focuses:

• criminal justice

• Housing and homelessness

• Health care and mental health care

Church pastor James Boddie Jr. said these issues are leading to growing concerns.

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“The population is growing and we don’t have enough housing for people who work and have income, but not just enough to pay the mortgage. So how should we work for affordable housing,” Boddie said.

Robin Scott and Linda Allen felt the same way.

“I’m concerned about our response to mental health in the community, to violence in the community. These are some of the things that brought me here,” Scott said.

Scott and Allen said they appreciate having an organization where people have a say.

“I would like to see civil citations. We have civil penalties to keep kids out of jail, arrest records, and court costs. I would like to see this happen with first-time offenders, non-violent individuals, primarily 18 and older who have some type of paper issue on their driver’s license or their car tag or something like that,” Allen said.

At the end of the meeting, the organization decided to focus on solving the housing and homelessness problem in Jacksonville.