A cure to violence in Chicago

NON PROFIT

by THE OLBIOS TEAM

In 2000, Chicago’s West Garfield Park neighborhood had one of the highest murder rates in the United States. Five years earlier, Gary Slutkin, an experienced epidemiologist, had established the Chicago Project for Violence Protection after becoming convinced that the trajectory of infectious disease and that of violence share similar patterns. By this reasoning, one could treat each with the same public health strategy: stopping transmission at the source and changing behavior patterns so that fewer people became infected in the first place. Initially focusing unsuccessfully on an outreach program aimed at fostering youth employment and education as a means to prevent violence, Slutkin realized he was not reaching the most infectious individuals. Adjusting his approach, he founded CeaseFire (now called Cure Violence) as a stand-alone pilot project in West Garfield Park and watched as his hunch proved correct: by the end of its first year the organization’s innovative model had produced a stunning 67% reduction in shootings. CeaseFire identifies those who have been most infected by urban violence and treats this core group through a staff of “violence interrupters:” former perpetrators employed to disrupt armed conflicts and educate the community about the consequences of violent behavior. As a testament to its success, the organization’s model has now been replicated in fifteen American cities and four countries worldwide. Cure Violence_website   Website: http://cureviolence.org/ An excellent documentary Does violence works like a disease? Gary Slutkin

 

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