All young people have the right to be safe, healthy, and have access to a good education.

Violence claimed more than 500 lives in our city in 2008 and nearly half of the victims were young people between the ages of 10 and 25.

Violence costs our city an estimated $2.5 billion per year, approximately $2,500 per household. Youth violence affects everyone and can have lifelong effects on our children's success, health, and happiness. Research demonstrates that childhood exposure to community and neighborhood violence, particularly gun violence, has been linked with increased depression, aggression, delinquency, poor school performance, and risky sexual behavior. We know that we cannot arrest or incarcerate our way out of this problem. Chicago's plan to stop youth violence will require multi-disciplinary partnerships, balanced approaches, and data-driven strategies. Every individual, block, neighborhood, community, business, faith-based group, philanthropic organization, and system plays a critical role if we are to succeed…and we MUST succeed.

Together we can stop the violence!
 

At the direction of President Obama, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education launched the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, inviting Chicago as one of six U.S. cities to share challenges and promising strategies for youth violence prevention while exploring how federal agencies can better support local efforts. The Forum connects us with other cities and makes us eligible to receive technical assistance and support from multiple federal agencies, including the U.S. Departments of Justice, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing, and Labor.

CHICAGO'S PLAN

The Chicago Initiative for Thriving Youth (CITY) is a call to every individual and organization in the city to come together with a heightened sense of urgency and unprecedented coordination.

Our mandate is to work collaboratively through effective prevention, intervention, law enforcement, and reentry efforts, in partnership with youth, to stop the violence and build on our many strengths and assets as a city.

CITY calls us to address youth violence from a public safety AND public health perspective. We understand that the trauma often experienced from violence can result in a cycle of hurt people hurting other people.

Together we can break the cycle and place our children on a healthy life trajectory.

Dr. Martin Luther King told us that the truly free person is one who perceives options. For many young people, violence has become the norm, one of the few "tools in their toolbox" for expressing emotions and solving problems. CITY will create an opportunity to broaden the range of possibilities for protecting young people, building on such principles as restorative justice, positive youth development, and trauma-informed services.

Join in the CITY dialogue!

Chicago enjoys a strong service community of providers who offer positive youth development programs and services across all communities. City departments working in partnership with neighborhood-based agencies dedicate much needed resources on prevention, intervention, reentry, and law enforcement services for high-risk youth as well as the general population. Here's a sample of youth services available:

AFTER SCHOOL MATTERS
gallery37; science37; sports37; tech37; words37
http://www.afterschoolmatters.org

CHICAGO ALTERNATIVE POLICING STRATEGY (CAPS)
Arts Infusion Program; Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative
https://portal.chicagopolice.org/portal/page/portal/ClearPath/Get%20Involved/How %20CAPS%20works

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RELATIONS, CHICAGO
Advisory Councils; Reentry Services; Youth Violence Prevention Partnerships
http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/cchr.html

CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY Bus Trippers; Youth Development; Youth Violence Prevention Partnerships
http://www.transitchicago.com/

For a description of other City Services for Youth visit http://www.cityofchicago.org

For more information, contact:
Christopher Mallette
Director of Community Safety Initiatives
Office of the Mayor
312.744.9515