Our Impact
CRED Men’s Program
Chicago CRED directly engages hundreds of young men and women in communities where gun violence is most concentrated, offering them a real chance – not a second chance, but a first chance – to put down their guns.
Relationships are at the core of CRED’s model and mission.
At multiple locations across several South and West side neighborhoods, the CRED program has teams of outreach workers, therapists, tutors, life coaches, and job coaches that work together to ensure every program participant receives high-quality care and consistent support.
The CRED program is committed to helping participants heal from trauma, explore their talents, develop life skills, and ultimately find success in the legal economy.
“They gave me a boost”
“Without this job, I would have still found a way but it would have been a longer process without CRED.”
Derrick | CRED Participant
Other Ways CRED Is Engaging You Men — The North Lawndale Collaboration
Through at-scale violence prevention, we hope to transform individual lives as well as whole communities.
Created To Stop Violence Before It Happens
Approximately 30 different street factions are currently active in or near North Lawndale, with an estimated 1250 people at high risk of shooting or being shot.
Between 2020 and 2022, more than 500 people were shot in the North Lawndale community alone.
To combat gun violence and drive those numbers down, Chicago CRED partnered with READI Chicago, Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P), UCAN, and the North Lawndale Employment Network (NLEN) to form the North Lawndale Collaborative.
The Goal Is To Break The Cycle
The Collaborative’s goal is to reach a tipping point that breaks the cycle of retaliatory shootings that drives much of the gun violence in North Lawndale.
To achieve that goal, the five partners who make up North Lawndale Collaborative are collectively seeking to engage 700 of the 1,250 individuals at the highest risk of gun violence.
We are increasing our collective capacity to provide outreach, counseling, employment, education, and other critical services in the North Lawndale community.
“IT’S BEEN A BLESSING TO HAVE THE CRED MEN WORK WITH US.”
“They’ve demonstrated such spirit and hard work. I’m proud that we could help them get back on their feet and offer them professional experience to move forward.”
MIKE BOONSTRA | GENERAL MANAGER OF PULLMAN SUGAR
Everything counts towards making the community feel safer.
Help CRED Help Young Men
Through our programs, CRED helps young men explore their talents, develop skills, get real experience, and ultimately find success in the legal economy.