Young But Mighty
"Where I Stand" teens have a clear vision of safety, security and opportunity in Chicago When it comes to peace and justice, are you a burner or a builder? For 21 Chicago teens who met at Uptown's Institute of Cultural Affairs (USA), it boiled down to constructively burning down barriers and building new relationships, emphasizing ways and means
Ken Griffin provides $10 million investment in Chicago safety
Improving safety and reducing gun violence requires all of us to pitch in. Today's announcement from Mayor Emanuel and Ken Griffin is another reflection of Chicago's generous spirit and sense of shared responsibility to help our city meet our challenges. This money will support key elements of a larger aligned funding strategy to make our city safer,
GAPA Recommends Community Safety Oversight Board
Following release of the Police Accountability Task Force report in April 2016, several foundations came together to support a critical next step in the reform effort – the community engagement process that would shape a recommendation for a community oversight board. The Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability (GAPA) conducted an extensive community engagement process in developing its
Illinois House Passes Gun Legislation
After emotional pleas from Cardinal Blase Cupich and a chorus of gun safety advocates, the Illinois House passed legislation this week requiring gun dealers to be licensed by the state, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The House passed other measures to raise the minimum age to purchase an assault rifle to 21, to ban the sale
The Metropolitan Peace Academy: Professionalizing Street Outreach in Chicago
By Vaughn Bryant In Chicago, 764 people were murdered in 2016, a 58 percent increase over 2015. That number would have been even greater without the invaluable work of street outreach workers. In cities such as Los Angeles, Boston and Chicago, street outreach workers have been indispensable in diffusing violent situations, helping to prevent such situations from
Margaret’s Village Block Party Builds Strong Sense of Community
By Kimberly Rudd, a writer with Rudd Resources This is an excerpt of a post from The Chicago Fund for Safe and Peaceful Communities blog. Margaret's Village Development Director Geri Kerger paused to catch her breath. She had been in the midst of describing the activities – the many, many activities – that comprised her organization's September Safe
How Art Built Bridges Between Police and Community
By Cassaundra Sampson, a writer with Rudd Resources This is an excerpt of a post from The Chicago Fund for Safe and Peaceful Communities blog. For 45 years, the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center has provided Afro-Latin arts and culture to a neighborhood surrounded by gang activity and crime. In 2017, Executive Director Omar Torres applied for a
Mentor Teacher Brother
By Raquel Venado, a writer with Rudd Resources This is an excerpt of a post from The Chicago Fund for Safe and Peaceful Communities blog. Mentor Teacher Brother is an organization with a clear motto: Leaders of Today Working to Preserve a Better Tomorrow. Located in the West Pullman neighborhood, its goal is to create defining moments for
Apprenticeship Program Engaged Teens to Repair and Give Away Hundreds of Bikes this Summer
This is an excerpt of a post from The Chicago Fund for Safe and Peaceful Communities blog. The big warehouse at 24th and Western could easily go unnoticed in the Pilsen neighborhood; there is no dominant signage, no colorful mural and no sweeping awning on the former furniture warehouse. Instead, like a great book with a mediocre
Pilsen Peace March
Safe and Peaceful Communities grantee, Mujeres Latinas en Accion, hosted a peace march in Pilsen in response to the recent shootings in their community. Over 100 participants joined the march to show their solidarity for peace. They marched from Mujeres Latinas office on 2124 W 21st Pl to the Boys and Girls Club on 2157 W