Community groups, agencies try to curb youth violence fights youth violence

By Marie Balice Ward 

A recent spate of shootings of youths in this area and around the city has galvanized a variety of individuals and organizations to step up their efforts to reduce youth violence and gang membership.

            The City, schools, social service agencies, community groups, musical groups and celebrities, community leaders, the Police Department, and others are banding together in a concerted effort to help direct youth toward constructive activities while educating them about the effects of violence. 

            “Every day residents share with me their concerns and fears about violence,” said 3rd Ward Alderman Pat Dowell. “Violence is ripping our community apart. At town hall meetings, in people’s visits to the aldermanic office, and in conversations in the neighborhoods, I listen daily and see the effects violence has taken in our community. By working together we can take the necessary steps to eliminate violence and make our community safe for everyone.

“I support the work of the Safety Net Works Coalition, which is based in our community at the Grand Boulevard Federation,” Dowell continued. “As part of this coalition, my office is committed to finding a solution. I have created a dialogue with the Chicago Police Department so residents may have a voice in curbing violence. Since May of last year, my office has been working with the youth of our community directly by creating holiday sports programs, providing back-to-school supplies, and meeting regularly with educators, parents, and students. These are small but needed steps to end violence.”

            Earnest Gates of the Near West Side Community Development Corp. (NWSCDC) in West Haven said his organization is planning numerous sports activities this summer for youth, including a basketball mentoring program at Crane High School.  “We believe sports are a positive process to reach our youth,” Gates said. “Our young people do not have anyone to talk to. We are working with C.A.P.S. [the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy], but we also need volunteers who can devote two or more years to the youth programs.” 

Gates’s group is planning a baseball program for boys and girls, and the basketball mentoring program also will be available to both genders. The programs will start Monday, June 16, and run through Thursday, Aug. 14, and provide separate divisions for grade school, high school, and boys and girls past high school up through age 21.

Born and reared in the area, Gates has seen many changes. He said new condo developments are creating stress, although he believes strong that “the community is headed in the right direction.”  For more information about these programs and to volunteer, call (312) 738-2280 and speak with Gates or Aaron Boyd.

Meanwhile, at the ABLA Homes site of the Community Counseling Centers of Chicago (C4) at 1622 S. Blue Island Ave. leaders are Marcy Darin and Jennifer Garfield and others are working hard to help youth avoid the path of violence.

Among C4’s programs is a boys conflict group designed for 11- to 13-year-olds that meets after school at Medill Elementary School. The children receive referrals to the program by their schools, explained Garfield, and the program aims to help them learn skills to manage frustration and anger. In addition, an arts group run by a C4 art therapist takes place at Fosco Park, 1312 S. Racine Ave.

First-time criminal offenders also are referred to ABLA’s case managers, and ABLA encourages the youths’ parents to become involved.

“It is difficult sometimes to involve the parents because of distrust,” said Garfield. “We are here to help. Confidentiality is strictly enforced.”

C4 also operates a community mental health agency to assist with issues such as substance abuse and sexual assault; provide family services such as parenting classes; and offer case management for a variety of situations and challenges. The agency runs seven other locations besides the Blue Island Ave. site.

For information or help from C4, call Garfield at (312) 226-2252, ext. 203.

Many artists also are working to curb violence. As hip-hop artist KRS-One said, “We are in a state of emergency:  shootings at schools, nooses being hung from trees, domestic violence, gang violence, police brutality, and war. It is most appropriate that I announce the revitalization of the Stop the Violence Movement as we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday,” the musician said this year on the anniversary of late civil rights leader’s birthday. 

KRS-One has participated in workshops, presentations, and receptions held by various groups and can be heard on the CD Self Destruction, which features a number of hip-hop artists addressing themes of violence.

At the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), there is a recognized expert in the field of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED), who consults with UIC departments regarding office design and construction issues, said Bill Burton, news bureau director for UIC. 

“The UIC Campus is safe," Burton said. "We have a large, highly trained police department, the work of which has been lauded by federal and city authorities. The UIC Police have become the first university police department in the state to attain recognition by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. We work closely with the Chicago Police, the state’s attorney’s office, and neighborhood institutions to maintain a secure environment.

"Like any other university, we are not immune from crime," Burton continued. "We urge members of the community to take prudent precautions, be aware of their surroundings, travel in pairs or groups after dark, be aware of the location of emergency call boxes (more than 1,000 on campus), take advantage of the inter-campus bus or the Red Car service, and to report suspicious activity to police immediately.” 

Should a serious crime occur, the campus issues crime alerts to the entire community: mass e-mail to students and employees, a log-in Message of the Day when students log into the computer system, and printed flyers posted around the campus. In an extreme situation, text messages are sent to cell phones. There is a 5-5555 number for immediate access to police and fire for any campus emergency.

Check www.uic.edu/index.html/emergency_preparedness.shtml for more information. UIC is within the Chicago Police’s 12th District.

The 12th District is one of many devoting efforts to stem youth violence. The 12th participates in holiday sports tournaments for youngsters in seventh and eighth grades and for children from various youth organizations. The tournaments include nutritious lunches as well.

The 12th District also offers frequent gang workshops with local funeral home directors as keynote speakers; held at schools for fifth through eighth grade students, these sessions present information about violence’s ramifications. The district also runs a series of domestic violence workshops for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade girls and their mothers; held in the evenings, they feature guest speakers and serve dinner to those attending.

The 12th reaches younger children with its “read a book” initiative on gun safety for children in Head Start through first grade. Officers frequently come to participating schools, where they conduct roll call and allow children to ask questions during an open forum. The district also sponsors a monthly C.A.P.S. Youth Beat meeting. For more information about any 12th District programs, call (312) 746-8306 or (312) 746-8309.