Gun Violence in Chicago is up 36 Percent in 2020. Community-Based Gun Violence Intervention Programs Can Provide Solutions

According to a report by the Chicago Sun‐Times, the number of people who have been shot — killed or wounded — in Chicago has risen by 36 percent so far this year. 

Last week, a 15-year-old high school student was shot and killed in Bowmanville on the North Side of Chicago. The shooting came just a month after one particularly violent February weekend, when 11 children were shot and wounded and 26 people were shot in total, including four fatally.

Black and brown children experience gun violence more than white children, in part due to deliberate policy decisions that created segregated neighborhoods and drove income inequality in Black and brown communities. Children and teens who live in cities are at a significantly higher risk of gun homicides and assaults compared to their peers in rural areas. 

In Chicago, volunteers with Moms Demand Action are advocating alongside local partners for increased funding for community-based intervention programs, including:

• Institute for Nonviolence Chicago, an organization seeking to interrupt cycles of violence and transform communities.   
• IGrow Chicago, an Englewood organization working to heal individual and community trauma resulting from violence. 
• Live Free Chicago, a faith-based organization working to transform Chicago communities from gun violence.
• Strides For Peace, an organization that empowers, amplifies, and collaborates with community organizations working to end gun violence.

In addition to increasing dedicated state funding for gun violence prevention and services for survivors of gun violence, state agencies should utilize federal Victim of Crime Act (VOCA) victim assistance funding to support local organizations serving survivors of gun violence and their communities.

More information about gun violence in Illinois is available here, and more information about gun violence in cities is available here.