Anti-Violence Efforts in Chicago

Chicago has been plagued with high levels of street violence.  There is a growing movement to counter that violence including outreach workers who seek to intervene at community flash points, especially between gangs.  Many of the outreach workers are former gang members, people who have been victims of violence and even perpetrators of that violence.

But one issue has been burn-out and secondary trauma for these front-line anti-violence activists.  So an effort is underway to support these violence interrupters with training and psychological support to help them with resiliency so they can continue their vital efforts.

Here is a report from National Public Radio about these efforts in Chicago:  Click here.

Chicago isn’t the only place where street-level activists have been inserting themselves into explosive situations.  Peace Warriors Chris Perkins and Dan Buttry went to Montego Bay, Jamaica to work with Rev. Everton Jackson in his efforts to support anti-violence efforts in that community.  They trained “violence interrupters,” courageous folks going where the police were afraid to go to bring peace to the streets of their city.