Residents Question Rahm’s New Anti-Violence Initiative

Community leaders gather at Cesar Chavez Multicultural Academy for a 9th district Expanded Anti-violence Initiative (EAVI) meeting, a program now replaced by the Community Anti-violence and Restoration Effort (CARE).

New program promises to fight violence in the city’s high crime neighborhoods, replaces anti-violence initiatives residents say were working

A new partnership between Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is expected to fight the violence in some of Chicago’s high crime neighborhoods.

The Community Anti-violence and Restoration Effort (CARE) was announced on Oct. 13 and came shortly after Emanuel promised to offer a solution to the violence by transforming existing top-down policing programs like the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS).

“Like many aging programs, CAPS has become too bureaucratic after 20 years, with nearly as many people working in police department headquarters as in the districts they are supposed to serve,” said Emanuel.

Emanuel said he would reallocate CAPS resources back into the communities and allow district commanders to plan their own anti-violence strategies.

But the new CARE partnership already has an established strategy.

A draft of the CARE plan was presented to local residents at a community meeting held at Chicago Police Department (CPD) headquarters on Oct. 11. The new plan focuses on prevention, intervention and response with an estimated annual budget of $4.4 billion and about 97 community leaders on seven leadership councils.

The mayor’s office released a statement saying the new CARE program has launched a number of anti-violence initiatives in the past year, and it expects to work with about 36 community organizations.

Some community residents argue that other existing anti-violence programs were already showing results at the grassroots level in high crime neighborhoods.

They say that in the past three years, the Expanded Anti-Violence Initiative (EAVI), a project of CAPS and CPD, was developing comprehensive grassroots initiatives in communities like Englewood, Woodlawn and the Back of the Yards.

Initially, EAVI was a pilot project that began in the 9th district and slowly spread to the 3rd, 7th and 11th police districts.

“Residents and local organizations were connecting to law enforcement and took action against a number of community issues related to crime and safety – from securing vacant buildings, to taking back community corners once controlled by gangbangers,” said an involved resident who wanted to remain anonymous.

This effort, said the resident, was beginning to mobilize local people and led to major citywide policies such as the new Curfew Ordinance, proposed by 15th Ward Ald. Toni Foulkes as a result of an EAVI initiative.

Emilio Carrasquillo, neighborhood director of the Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) Back of the Yards/Garlfied Boulevard office, was involved with the 9th and 7th district EAVI programs. He says he was “surprised” when he found out that EAVI was about to end, so were other residents.

“A lot of people who were at the meeting seemed like they were turned off by the fact that they were not notified. They have been working hard at these meetings and their committees. And all of a sudden, this program ends and another one starts without them being notified.”

The city could have done a better job involving the community in the CARE program before announcing it, he added.

Janise Sanders, resident of the 7th police district said, “We were told the EAVI meetings were going to be disassembled. That we were allowed to meet only in October and November, and then it will dissipate.”

She asked if her community could continue to hold the EAVI meetings in the 7th police district.

But Felicia Davis, executive director for the mayor’s Office of Public Engagement said during the CPD community meeting that, “the desire is to work with one cohesive group and to rally all the resources around that one cohesive group.”

The Gate called Davis several times for comment, but phone calls were not returned.

Under the new CARE program the city will create three new re-engagement centers in communities with a high number of youth dropping out of high school —Little Village, Garfield Park and Englewood.

Aside from working to reinstitute at-risk youth in the school system, the CARE initiative plans to implement community based prevention, youth intervention and response strategies.

New City resident Dorothy Shaw, who lives on 52nd and Paulina, welcomes any sort of anti-violence strategy, as long as elected officials are willing to listen to residents.

“We want to sit down and discuss the changes…I think the community needs to sit down with the mayor and let him see what we see,” she said.

Shaw has been a long-involved participant of CAPS meeting Beat 932. She is proud of the collaboration but is willing to try something new, as long as it brings results.

Her local initiative is now organizing four other blocks. “We have started the United Block Club where all of us are united.” So far the United Block Club has organized other blocks along Paulina Street—51st, 52nd, 53rd and 54th.

Residentes Cuestionan Nueva Iniciativa Anti-Violencia de Rahm

Members of the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council (BPNC) parent patrol group walk along Thomas Kelly high school. The parent group is part of an independent BPNC initiative that has continued to sustain local parent groups at several schools in the neighborhood over the past 5 years.

Nuevo programa promete combatir la violencia en los vecindarios de alta criminalidad de la ciudad, reemplaza iniciativas anti-violencia que residentes dicen funcionaban

Una nueva alianza entre el Alcalde de Chicago Rahm Emanuel y la Presidenta de la Junta del Condado de Cook Toni Preckwinkle se espera que combata la violencia en algunos de los vecindarios de de alta criminalidad en Chicago.

La iniciativa denominada Esfuerzo Comunitario Anti violencia y de Restauración (CARE) anunciado el 13 de octubre, se produjo al poco tiempo después de que Emanuel prometiera poner solución a la violencia mediante la transformación de existentes programas policiacos con altas politicas jerárquicas como lo es la Estrategia Policiaca Alternativa de Chicago (CAPS).

“Como muchos programas envejecidos, CAPS se ha hecho demasiado burocrático después de 20 años, con casi el mismo número de personas trabajando en la sede del departamento de policía como en los distritos que se supone deben servir”, dijo Emanuel.

Emanuel dijo que redistribuiría los recursos de CAPS en las comunidades y permitiría que los comandantes planeen sus propias estrategias anti violencia.

Pero, la nueva alianza CARE tiene una estrategia ya establecida.

Un borrador del plan CARE fue presentado a los residentes locales en una reunión comunitaria realizada en la sede del Departamento de Policía de Chicago (CPD) el 11 de octubre. El nuevo plan se enfoca en la prevención, intervención y respuesta con un presupuesto anual estimado de $4.4 billones y aproximadamente 97 líderes comunitarios en siete concilios de liderazgo.

La oficina del alcalde dio a conocer un comunicado diciendo que el nuevo programa CARE ha lanzado un número de iniciativas anti violencia en el último año y espera trabajar con aproximadamente 36 organizaciones comunitarias.

Pero algunos residentes de la comunidad argumentan que otros existentes programas anti-violencia ya estaban mostrando resultados a nivel de base en vecindarios de alta criminalidad.

Dicen que en los últimos tres años, la Iniciativa Expandida Anti Violencia (EAVI), un proyecto de CAPS y del CPD estuvo desarrollando iniciativas comprensivas de base en comunidades como Englewood, Woodlawan, y Back of the Yards.

Inicialmente, EAVI era un programa piloto que comenzó en el distrito 9 y lentamente se esparció a los distritos 3, 7 y 11.

“Los residentes y organizaciones locales estaban conectándose a la policía y tomaban acción contra un número de problemas de la comunidad relacionados al crimen y a la seguridad—desde asegurar los edificios vacantes, a retomar las esquinas de la comunidad una vez controladas por los pandilleros”, dijo un residente involucrado que quiso mantenerse en el anonimato.

Este esfuerzo, dijo el residente, estaba comenzando a movilizar a la gente local y llevó a importantes políticas a nivel ciudad como la nueva 0rdenanza del toque de queda propuesta por la Concejal Toni Foulkes como resultado de una iniciativa del EAVI.

Emilio Carrasquillo, director comunitario de la oficina de Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) Back of the Yards/Garfield Boulevard estuvo involucrado con los programas de EAVI en los distritos 9 y 7. El dice que “se sorprendió” cuando se enteró de que EAVI estaba a punto de terminar, al igual que otros residentes.

“Muchas de las personas que estuvieron en la reunión parecían estar decepcionadas por el hecho de que no fueron notificadas. Han estado trabajando duro en estas reuniones y en sus comités. Y repentinamente, este programa acaba y otro comienza sin ser notificados”.

La ciudad pudo haber hecho un mejor trabajo involucrando a la comunidad sobre el programa CARE antes de anunciarlo, añadió.

Janise Sanders, residente del 7º distrito policial dijo, “nos dijeron que las reuniones de EAVI iban a ser desmontadas. Que nos iban a permitir reunirnos solamente en octubre y noviembre y luego se iba a disipar”.

Ella preguntó si su comunidad podría continuar realizando las reuniones de EAVI en el Distrito 7 si la comunidad quería.

Pero Felicia Davis, la directora ejecutiva de la Oficina de Participación Pública dijo durante la reunión comunitaria del CPD que, “el deseo es trabajar con un grupo cohesivo y reunir todos recursos alrededor de ese grupo cohesivo”.

The Gate intentó llamar a Davis varias veces para obtener un comentario, pero las llamadas no fueron devueltas.

Bajo el nuevo program CARE la ciudad creará tres nuevos centros de compromiso de comunidades con un alto número de jovenes que abandonaron la secundaria–La Villita, Garlfied Park y Englewood.

Además de trabajar para reinstituir a los jóvenes en riesgo en el sistema escolar, la iniciativa CARE planea implementar prevención comunitaria de base, intervención juvenil, y estrategias de respuesta.

La residente de New City Dorothy Shaw que vive en las Calles 52 y Paulina le da la bienvenida a cualquier clase de estrategia anti violencia, siempre y cuando los funcionarios electos estén dispuestos a escuchar a los residentes.

“Queremos sentarnos y discutir los cambios…creo que la comunidad necesita sentarse con el alcalde y hacerle saber lo que vemos”, ella dijo.

Shaw ha sido participante de mucho tiempo de la reunión de CAPS del Beat 932. Ella está orgullosa de la colaboración pero está dispuesta a intentar algo nuevo siempre y cuando tenga resultados.

Su iniciativa local ahora es organizar otros cuatro clubes de cuadra. “Comenzamos el Club de Cuadras Unidas donde todos nosotros estamos unidos”. Hasta ahora el Club de Cuadras Unidas ha organizado otras cuadras a lo largo de la Calle Paulina—51, 52, 53 y 54.