High-Risk Conflict Mediation by
Outreach Staff

CeaseFire outreach and high-risk conflict mediation are, together, perhaps the most vital of the five core components of CeaseFire. The outreach workers and violence interrupters are streetwise individuals who are familiar with gang life in the communities where CeaseFire is active. Many of them are former gang members and many have spent time in prison, but they are now “on this side of the line” and eager to give back and help young people in their neighborhoods.

These individuals use their experience and knowledge of the streets to seek out and build relationships with troubled youths who are susceptible to the violent norms that still exist on the streets.

Outreach workers have a client base and focus on changing the behaviors and thinking of high-risk youth. They keep in touch with the community and seek to intervene in conflicts before they escalate to violence and also prevent retaliation. They attempt to steer individuals away from violence to more positive endeavors, such as education and employment opportunities.

Violence interrupters are a component of CeaseFire that began in March 2004. They are a group comprised largely of individuals who have served time and had, at one time, close ties to Chicago’s gangs. Rather than working with individuals as clients, they leverage their knowledge of the city to diffuse tensions and, hopefully, maintain peace by meeting with individuals, negotiating truces, and discouraging retaliation when conflicts erupt. They also speak with young people and urge them to seek nonviolent ways of achieving status with their peers and in their communities.

 

Map of CeaseFire Conflict Mediations (pdf)