Coinciding with the launch of WTTW Digital’s “Firsthand: Gun Violence” series, READI Chicago and WTTW hosted a screening and community panel event focused on the people working on the front lines of violence prevention in Englewood and Auburn Gresham.
The event featured screenings of parts of the documentary series focused on Englewood outreach worker Reality Allah and India, a high school senior dealing with PTSD in the wake of gun violence. The audience saw Reality helping READI Chicago participants cope with a shooting and search for housing, while India dealt with her father’s shooting and the death of a friend.
Firsthand Producer Dan Protess moderated a panel with Reality; Illinois Violence Prevention Authority’s Dameka Edwards-Hart, India’s mother; Christa Hamilton, executive director of READI Chicago transitional jobs partner Centers for New Horizons; and Vaughn Bryant, executive director of Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P).
The panelists called attention to the many barriers contributing to gun violence, from housing to employment to disinvestment in the population READI Chicago serves, as well as urged people to get involved in whatever ways they can.
“Sometimes all it takes is to show the people in READI Chicago that they’re important and that you care,” Reality said. “A lot of these guys come from environments where they haven’t had that. So when they come through the door at READI Chicago, we let them know we appreciate them.”
Christa stressed that there is no single, simple solution to gun violence. Chicago needs a city-wide collaboration of government, philanthropy, and organizations like READI Chicago and CP4P — and even then, it won’t be a quick fix. Christa highlighted that many people in the neighborhoods these organizations serve have faced years of trauma that will take long-term investment to heal.
“We need to realize that this isn’t going to be changed overnight,” Christa said. “But engaging someone for 18 months in something like READI Chicago, now he’s an asset to the community. He’s able to gain employment skills and deal with his traumas. That’s paramount in moving these guys into the next stage of their lives. They’re using this time for good.”
Watch the full series at
https://interactive.wttw.com/firsthand/gun-violence and read the accompanying investigative series from The Trace at
https://www.thetrace.org/projects/firsthand/.
