Britani Danielle investigates the new movement in Chicago that is working to prevent and end violence on the streets.
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The news pouring out of Chicago has been startling. Hundreds of murders have taken place, violence-plagued weekends have occurred, and the city’s politicians have been seemingly unable to do anything to keep citizens safe. While some have called on the military to intervene, other Chicagoans have taken it upon themselves to come up with solutions.
Led by activist Pastor Corey Brooks, Black men and women in Chicago will be hitting the streets every Friday and Saturday this summer for “Brothers on the Block” and “Sisters on the Streets” in an effort to prevent violence.
WGN gives more details about the grassroots initiative:
The volunteers will serve as mentors and role models to young people in the neighborhood.
Brooks say the Chicago Police Department is helping to identify the most at-risk areas, “Superintendent McCarthy has been very good at giving us information that we need. They provided us the 500 ‘impact zones’ and ‘impact spots’ throughout the city.”
Volunteers will undergo training by professionals who specialize in mentoring, building relationships and gang violence.
Brooks also is organizing another program called Sisters on the Streets to mentor girls in at-risk neighborhoods.
Pastor Brooks is looking to recruit 5,000 volunteers to participate in the project, and recently held a sign-up day, which attracted more than 1,300 men from motor cycle clubs, fraternities, and other parts of the city.
The first “Brothers on the Block” event is slated for Friday, June 6; “Sisters on the Streets” will take place the following day.
About Britni Danielle
Britni Danielle is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer, author, and editor. Her work has been featured in Essence, Jet, Ebony.com, and GOOD magazine. Pick up a book on Amazon, follow her on Twitter, or stop by her website.
This article originally appeared on Clutch Magazine Online.
Corey Brooks is just trying to make a name for himself in Chicago. If he really wanted to stop the shootings, he and the other race relations poverty pimps, would be asking for the National Guards to be called in to patrol the Chicago streets. This would stop the shootings in their tracks. But that would also stop the constant free media time these race relations poverty pimps receive. This problem is a disgrace to the city and it’s citizens. But these poverty pimps are just keeping their names and photos in the press to build up themselves. All the… Read more »