By Ric Estrada
Guest
Columnist
Chicago,
IL, USA
Violence in Chicago has gripped the city, taking an enormous
toll on its communities and the broader society. To help reduce that violence
and bring peace, Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P) was launched.
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| Ric Estrada |
Organized by Metropolitan Family Services, CP4P is a cross-agency
effort, coordinated by Metropolitan Family Services, that brings together eight
community-based organizations to deliver a comprehensive community outreach and
engagement model with the goal of reducing gun violence in nine of Chicago’s
highest-risk communities. CP4P’s work is rooted in nonviolence, trauma-informed
care, hyper-local collaboration and restorative justice practices.
At the heart of CP4P is the street outreach worker. Give me
10 minutes of your time to tell you about the transformed life of one such
individual, LeVon Stone, Sr.
Within 30 days of being shot and paralyzed from the waist
down, 18-year-old LeVon Stone Sr. went right back to the very spot where he was
shot, to keep “living the street life to its fullest capacity” in Chicago’s
Roseland community.
“When you’re a young person, you tend to do what you know, or
what you think you know,” LeVon says. He adds, “I’ve lived the life of the
‘high-risk’ individual – I’ve been shot, carried a gun, interacted with police.
I’ve done all that.”
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| LeVon Stone, Sr. |
But something changed. Specifically, LeVon’s mindset shifted
over time, sparked by meeting Xavier Williams, who introduced LeVon to formal
street outreach. Prior to meeting Xavier, LeVon's involvement in violence
prevention had been limited to informal efforts to quell outbreaks of violence
among individuals and groups.
Xavier was one of Chicago’s first street outreach workers, enlisted
for the role after having spent 20 years in prison. He was part of the team at
CeaseFire, known today as Cure Violence, which would become a leading street
outreach organization recognized locally and nationally. LeVon was intrigued by
the idea of working to prevent and intervene in violent situations, so he
decided to volunteer with CeaseFire.
Little did he know at the time, LeVon had found his niche.
After volunteering for three years, he was hired full-time at
the agency as a street outreach worker in 2006. Things took off. LeVon was soon
promoted to hospital responder – specialists who manage relations among those
just shot and sent to trauma hospitals, their family members, and the hospital.
He later became hospital case manager, then moved up to handling all hospital
relations at that site. Later, he was promoted again to direct all of the
agency’s Illinois hospital programs. He ended his time with the organization as
program director for all of its Chicago and Illinois operations.
During those years, LeVon also earned his bachelor’s and
master’s degree in Inner
City Studies from Northeastern Illinois University,
completing his master’s in 2015.
“Getting my education was part of what helped
me make the transition,” LeVon says.
This year LeVon was named CEO of Acclivus, a Chicago community
organization that uses public health methodologies and intentional social
networks to prevent violence and improve community health. His insertion into
the circle of leaders focused on violence prevention is significant, because he
and his leadership team are examples of transformation with indigenous ties to
communities where violence is most prevalent. Street outreach remains priority,
and Acclivus is now leading a hospital responder program, work that LeVon
describes as “outreach on steroids.”
With determination and the support of mentors, LeVon has
successfully changed his life, but it was not a quick process. “I was once part
of the problem, now I’m part of the solution,” he says. “When we talk about
making transition in life, I’ve made that transition. But I can tell you
firsthand that it doesn’t happen overnight. I didn’t make the full transition
until I was 30,” LeVon says, now in his 40s.
When it comes to CP4P, Chicago’s anti-violence collaboration
involving eight of the city’s leading street outreach organizations, LeVon has served
on the executive committee since the program launched. He says, “CP4P is unique
in that philanthropists in the Chicago area were concerned about stopping
violence, and they chose Metropolitan Family Services to be the lead
organization to organize the community partners. I’m glad the philanthropic
world knew that this was such a problem, and that they got behind this, and
wanted to fund it.”
He adds, “CP4P is a situation where Chicago people are being
used to solve what’s going on in Chicago – these are experts who have done the
work.”
LeVon also speaks highly of the Metropolitan Peace Academy,
established by CP4P to professionalize the street outreach field. “My
experience with CP4P has been a blessing, especially the Metropolitan Peace
Academy. The Peace Academy implemented different ideologies from different
organizations and married them. I think the Peace Academy could outlive
violence prevention in the Chicago area.” His Acclivus Field Directors both
graduated with the first class of Peace Academy enrollees.
In addition to the Peace Academy, LeVon also works directly
with CP4P’s organizer, Metropolitan Family Services, as Metropolitan serves as
Acclivus’ fiscal agent. That allows LeVon to offer his team economies of scale
for benefits in the first fledgling year of program operations.
Looking ahead, LeVon’s goals include helping to change both
the outcomes of and outlook on those who have left an unhealthy lifestyle and
are committed to self-improvement. “I want to get rid of the stigma, so people
are not judged for what they did as a teen,” he says. “It’s like double
jeopardy. I’m now 45, I’ve paid the price for my mistakes, but I’m still
haunted by what happened in the past.”
For street outreach, his biggest concern is the need for
ongoing financial support to sustain and secure success, as would any
fundamental public health need such as clean water and traffic lights. “Street
outreach needs to be a line item in all budgets, just like transportation is. Chicago’s
been known for violence since Al Capone’s time. To change that perception and
our reality, we need to figure out how to make funding for street outreach work
sustainable.”
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| CP4P Street Outreach |
With the leadership of street outreach experts like LeVon
Stone, CP4P is helping to bring peace to Chicago. Success is happening, but
lasting change will take time. Sustained support from the philanthropic
community, government and the community is required to achieve lasting
success.
Links:
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Ric Estrada is the President
and CEO of Metropolitan Family Services that is dedicated to providing and mobilizing services
needed to strengthen families and communities in Chicago.