Leo Baylor is hopeful for the new year. Despite a turbulent 2020 that included a spike in gun violence amid a pandemic, renewed calls for racial justice, and social and political unrest, Leo said he and the rest of the UCAN READI Chicago outreach team see positive impact they’re making in North Lawndale every day.
“The guys we work with are at such a high risk of violence, so we focus on giving them something to do besides being in the streets—we’re seeing the difference it makes,” Leo said. “We’ve seen guys really change their lives around over the last three years of READI, and we do everything in our power to help with that change.”
To foster real lasting change means going above and beyond to build and maintain relationships with participants, a job the UCAN READI outreach team takes very seriously. At times this relationship building looks like socially distant mini-golfing on Christmas Eve, or bringing along a participant for the holidays who has nowhere else to go, like Leo did last Thanksgiving.
“We spend a lot of time with our participants, getting close and building brother-like relationships,” Leo said. “So although that participant is done with READI now, we still keep in touch—I’m even going to see him later today. It helps strengthen the community.”
Focused on serving and empowering young people who have experienced trauma, UCAN brings deep community knowledge and far-reaching support services to READI Chicago as a North Lawndale outreach partner. Leo said he is proud to be part of such a dynamic team, as well as of the work they’ve done through READI to hone and develop the field of outreach.
“We’ve done trainings through READI on how to facilitate cognitive behavioral therapy, peace circle keeping, de-escalation tactics—all kinds of stuff,” Leo said. “The trainings and professional development we get through READI help us grow and do our jobs better. It also gives us skills to take elsewhere—when we’re ready to move forward in our careers beyond READI, we’ll still have that foundation to take out into other parts of our community.”
