CeaseFire Director Talks Violence Prevention in Evanston

Spring usually bring a surge in violent crime in Chicago, which can spill over into neighboring Evanston. But Tio Hardiman, executive director of CeaseFire, says it doesn't have to.

Addressing a few dozen residents, political candidates and elected officials at a violence prevent community forum held at the Fleetwood-Jourdain Center, Hardiman discussed how his organization treats violence like a disease and praised Evanston for taking a proactive approach to preventing its spread.

“Our job is to catch a guy before he crosses the line so nobody goes to jail and nobody goes to the cemetery," he said.

CeaseFire, which earned global recognition through the documentary The Interrupters, works with high-risk individuals in Chicago to help them change their behavior and mediate conflicts without violence. Many of its employees were once involved in criminal activity and use their experiences to help others change their lives by going back to school or getting jobs.

"We have generations of people who grew up in a culture of violence," Hardiman said. "In order to break that cycle we have to have people that can reach out to them.”

National community coordinator Marcus McAllister gave a presentation on CeaseFire's work and offered ways for the community to help by volunteering at CeaseFire's events, putting up signs in businesses that get people thinking about violence, hiring people with criminal histories and organizing after school activities to keep at-risk youth off the streets.

“We cannot do this without the help of the community," McAllister said. "Our arms are not that long."

Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl also cited the importance of jobs and activities in her introductory remarks at the forum.

"As spring is coming and summer is coming we need to resolve the problems in this community and get the guns off the streets," she said. "We need to make sure that every kid has something to do this summer.”

Hardiman spoke with students at Evanston Township High School last month. He said CeaseFire's outreach workers regularly coordinate with schools to identify students who need help.

“A lot of the hostility and anger that comes from home and the community at large spills over," he said. "People do not know how to deal with troubled times in their household so they wind up taking it out on students they go to school with.”

Working with youth often involves persuading them that some of their friends aren't friends at all but people likely to get them in trouble.

"Peer pressure plays a serious role," Hardiman said. "Most people are willing to walk away in a lot of situations, but guys need to learn not to give in to peer pressure.”

Referencing Dajae Coleman, a 14-year-old Evanston High School student who was shot and killed in September, Handiman said that his organization has identified hot spots of violence that Evanston should focus on and suggested holding events there to reach out to young people.

“If you lose one life it's too many,” he said.

Still he said he's optimistic that Evanston can be a much safer place.

“I know how it is to grow up in a very violent community," Hardiman said. "Evanston is a far cry from how I was used to growing up. “I truly believe that Evanston can go years and years without a homicide.”