We work with our participants to stay safe, free of incarceration, and able to sustainably support themselves and their families.
READI Chicago is an innovative response to gun violence in Chicago. The one-year program connects people most highly impacted by gun violence to cognitive behavioral interventions (CBI), paid transitional jobs, and wrap-around support services to help them create a path for a different future, and to help reduce violence in the city’s most impacted neighborhoods.
READI Chicago is informed by evidence from evaluations of similar programs involving CBI, jobs, and increased pay, which have shown decreases in violence involvement, arrests, and recidivism among at-risk youth and young adults. We are providing these interventions to adult men who face high rates of arrests and victimizations, to evaluate their effectiveness in reducing gun violence in Chicago.
participants connected to programming by outreach
“What gets me out of bed every morning is knowing that I could possibly save a life.”
READI Chicago relies on the expertise of community-based practitioners and partners in the criminal justice system to identify participants. In addition, READI Chicago uses predictive analytics, in the form of the Urban Labs Risk Assessment, to identify and subsequently connect individuals with outreach workers.
of CBI per participant
“I react to situations differently now. I think more, take responsibility, and think about the consequences.”
READI Chicago infuses the principles of cognitive behavioral interventions throughout the program. Research has shown that gun violence is often the result of split-second decisions. CBI is designed to help individuals slow down their thinking and respond less automatically in stressful situations.
paid to participants in wages & stipends
“It provides me with an opportunity to create some safe, steady income for me and my family.”
READI Chicago provides participants with a viable opportunity to make real change in their lives, in part by connecting them to 12 months of paid transitional employment. In addition to keeping participants safer, engaging people in paid work experience builds skills while promoting sustained economic opportunity.
per week of professional development, in addition to skills-based workshops and training opportunities
“I feel like I have a real family here. There are a lot of people seeking to do better, and this is real help.”
READI Chicago outreach workers, coaches and work crew staff work together to provide participants critical supports and access to services to help set them up for optimal and sustained success in work and in life.
Since launch, we have connected more than 800 men with career and workforce development services.
We are focused on those who are at highest risk of gun violence involvement.
Our staff bring lived experience, credibility and compassion to their approach to building relationships with men who have been disconnected and have strong incentives to stay off the grid. Our participants are together building a new network of men seeking to become positive forces in their families and communities.
It’s a 12-month program that fully supports participant success – including when they have setbacks. READI Chicago’s developmental pathway model is designed to support their continued personal development and sustainable employment after READI Chicago completion.
The University of Chicago Crime and Poverty labs are rigorously evaluating the program’s effectiveness in order to understand its impact and potential to expand if results are strong.
A focus on front-loading CBI and skills-based workforce development ensures that participants can develop job skills and a strong CBI base in a safe environment before beginning subsidized employment.
Through crew work, individual work assignments, and training and certification programs, participants have the opportunity to practice work skills while exploring various employment sectors.
As participants transition into unsubsidized employment, they work with staff to outline long-term goals and immediate action steps. Staff work closely with participants in their final months to ensure a smooth transition to unsubsidized employment.
Heartland Alliance is partnering with a network of six organizations on the South and West sides to implement READI Chicago. This allows participants to benefit from local expertise and resources, while building capacity within established community-based organizations. Since launch, Heartland Alliance has invested more than $20 million in our community-based partners.
The program launched in fall 2017 in five community areas—North Lawndale, Austin, West Garfield Park, Englewood, and West Englewood—with a goal of connecting 400 individuals to the program in the first year. The University of Chicago Crime and Poverty labs are evaluating READI Chicago in order to understand its impact and potential to expand if results are strong.
Given that the individuals we are trying to reach are hard to engage, READI Chicago is allocating up to one year of community-based outreach services to enroll participants in the program.
The University of Chicago Crime and Poverty labs are evaluating READI Chicago in order to understand its impact and potential to expand if results are strong.
