By Paul Robinson and LaQuay Boone
The best headline we have seen in a long time appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times on January 1. It said: “Chicago records fewest killings since 1965, despite Trump’s campaign against the city.”
Trump’s actions aside, the basic fact that the total number of homicides is at a 60-year-low is good news for the city and especially good news for Chicago’s community violence intervention organizations (CVI). At Chicago CRED, we witness firsthand how supportive relationships, paired with education, resources, and opportunity, can transform lives and strengthen entire communities.
In fact, two of the neighborhoods we work in every day, West Pullman and North Lawndale, rank first and third citywide in total declines in gun violence over the past four years. Behind these homicide numbers is a deeper set of numbers that helps explain our work.
Last, year, 979 current or former Chicago CRED participants received some services from us, including trauma treatment, job training, education, life coaching, and other forms of support. For each of the last three years, the number of people our program touched in one way or another has averaged just under 1000.
Last year, 500 CRED participants received educational services, including assessments, tutoring, and courses that enabled 89 of them to receive high school diplomas. We celebrated them and their families, as we do every year, with a graduation ceremony at South Shore Cultural Center in August.
Last year, 543 participants met one-on-one with a therapist and received treatment that is vital to their recovery as victims and perpetrators of gun violence. The level of trauma in the communities that we serve is incalculable, but we also know that healing is possible. We see the results every single day.
Last year, 454 new participants enrolled in the initial phase of our program, which is outreach. Enrolling is an act of trust and hope on the part of our participants and is a first step toward escaping the street life and learning to live safely. Since CRED started in 2016, nearly 2500 individuals at high risk of shooting or being shot have enrolled with us.
Last year, our life coaches conducted 11,598 sessions helping participants cope with issues ranging from financial and emotional pressures to everyday challenges like finding a safe place to live and commuting to and from work. Our life coaches serve as big brothers, father figures and best friends. They are on call 24-7 supporting our participants.
Last year, 207 participants received services from our office of employment and training. 123 of them had direct help finding jobs and twice that number were placed in job training programs and other opportunities.
Last year, 200 participants graduated from our program, which runs anywhere from 12 to 24 months. They are among more than 1000 CRED alumni and permanent members of our extended “family.” We stay engaged with them for as long as they will have us, conducting periodic “check-ins” to make sure they are still living safely and on track toward their goals.
Last year, our housing team found temporary housing for 22 participants and helped with rental assistance for seven. 352 people received “needs assessments” to help them and us understand what it would take to stabilize their lives and the lives of their families.
Last year, we took 128 participants out of Chicago on trips to places like Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Dallas, Denver, North Carolina, Phoenix, and Cincinnati. For many of them, it was the first time they had been on a plane.
All told, our outreach teams helped mediate 558 conflicts and directly responded to 160 shootings to help support victims and discourage retaliations. Our outreach workers also established five new non-aggression or peace agreements among active street factions, directly contributing to the decline in gun violence.
While these numbers speak to measurable impacts of our work, nothing speaks as eloquently as our participants who shared the following thoughts in an exit survey.
“Cred showed me I can change for the better and overcome all the odds.”
“Chicago Cred helped me become the man and gentleman I needed to be for my family, myself, and my community.”
“Since I’ve been in CRED, I have affordable housing, a car and now a job.”
“It has helped me stop abusing drugs.”
“Cred taught me the power of the pause.”
“I gained mentors, life coaches, friends. I learned real-life problem-solving skills, financial literacy, and how to deescalate a situation.”
“Cred taught me how to have self-control.”
“It opened my eyes to a better future.”
Embedded in these hundreds of positive comments were also some critiques that will help us get better as we continue working to reduce gun violence. The work is not easy and we don’t always succeed. But, thanks to our partners in the field of CVI, our funders in the public and private sectors, and especially the men and women doing the work every day with determination, courage and love, we are on a steady path to a safer Chicago.
Paul Robinson is Chief Program Officer at Chicago CRED. LaQuay Boone is Deputy Head of Programs.