CeaseFire To Host Violence Prevention Forum in Evanston

Tio Hardiman of Cure Violence (formerly CeaseFire), a national group dedicated to ending violence, will address Evanston residents during a community forum this March.

Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl hosts the event, titled a "Violence Prevention Community Forum," from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, March 28, at the Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, 1655 Foster Street. The event is free and open to the public; no registration is required.

Cure Violence was founded in 2000 by Gary Slutkin, a Chicago doctor who treated infectious diseases and believed the same approach could be taken to violence prevention. The group was made famous by the PBS film The Interrupters, which documented its method of training people (often former gang members) to be "interrupters," who go into communities to try to stop violence before it starts. 

Earlier: Violent Crime Rose in Evanston in 2012

Hardiman will speak about what he learned during a presentation at Evanston Township High School earlier this year, explain the CeaseFire violence prevention model, assess how Evanston stands when it comes to violence and outline strategies community members can take to prevent further violence. 

The forum comes roughly six months after the last community forum hosted by Tisdahl. On Oct. 2, hundreds of people packed the Fleetwood-Jourdain Center to talk about ways to prevent further violence following the fatal shooting of 14-year-old Evanston Township High School freshman Dajae Coleman.

“We need to, each one of us, commit to doing something in this community,” Tisdahl said at the meeting. “The kids are watching.”

Since Coleman's death, two other young men have been shot and killed in Evanston. , died on Nov. 29, and , was shot and killed Dec. 12. And on Dec. 8, a 20-year-old man was shot multiple times and critically injured. 

Violent crime spiked in Evanston in 2012, according to the most recent figures released by the police department. The number of murders (3) and criminal sexual assaults (5) remained the same from year to year, but the rise was largely due to an increase in aggravated assaults and batteries, from 96 in 2011 to 143 in 2012.

Speaking to reporters in a recent press conference, Police Chief Richard Eddington said that the aggravated assault and battery numbers had risen in part due to an ongoing feud or conflict between two factions of residents that resulted in the three murders and several other violent incidents. 

“We have several groups of people who are not fond of each other living in close proximity,” Eddington said. “Random encounters can lead to violent outcomes in those settings.” 

Eddington said police are continuing to investigate the deaths of Justin Murray and Javar Bamberg, but are stymied by a lack of cooperation from people who could provide police with enough information to press charges.