Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #116567

Tio Hardiman, Tim Metzger, MUPP, and Gary Slutkin, MD. University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Public Health, Chicago Project for Violence Prevention/CeaseFire, 1603 W. Taylor, Chicago, IL 60612, (312) 355-3151, tioh@uic.edu

The Chicago Project for Violence Prevention (CeaseFire) is a strategic public health effort to stop violence, specifically shootings and killings. The Project works with community organizations, outreach workers, law enforcement, and faith leaders to develop neighborhood strategies to reduce community violence. The theory behind the public health strategy of the Chicago Project emphasizes the ability to intervene in situations that would likely result in violence and provide specific alternatives for a resolution of the immediate situation, to move individuals out of lifestyles that typically lead to violence (gangs, drugs), and to change norms. This paper will explore the work done to mediate conflicts by CeaseFire outreach workers and “violence interrupters”, to determine the types of conflicts mediated and the outcomes achieved. Outreach workers engage high risk youth with positive alternatives and connect them with resources, while “violence interrupters” work primarily with gang leaders to mediate inter-gang disputes that are likely to turn violent. Central to this analysis is whether conclusions related to the prevention of shootings can be drawn. For the first nine months of 2004 (when Chicago's homicides dropped by 25%), there were 112 documented conflicts mediated, 70 by “violence interrupters”, and 42 by outreach workers. Preliminary analysis indicates that “violence interrupters” are involved in more mediations that involve gang altercations (66% vs. 33%), and guns (70% vs. 45%), and which are thought to be more likely to result in serious violence (85% vs. 73%).

Learning Objectives:

• 1) To understand the differences in outreach workers and violence interrupters ability to resolve high-risk conflicts
• 2) To develop a methodology for responding to gang retaliation and high-risk conflicts utilizing mediators with street knowledge and credibility

Keywords: Violence Prevention, Youth Violence

Related Web page: www.ceasefirechicago.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.