HATE CANNOT DRIVE OUT HATE
ONLY LOVE CAN DO THAT.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to end the cycle of violence in Chicago.
OUR STRATEGIC VISION
Guided by Dr. King’s principles, practices, and teachings of nonviolence, we connect to individuals at highest risk of shooting or being shot and offer conflict mediation, victim advocacy, case management, and nonviolence training.
These methods help us work to reduce shootings, guide people involved in violence through their journey away from it, empower and nurture communities in the aftermath of violence, and mediate positive interactions between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
OUR BELIEFS
Love
We believe that you can’t fight violence with more violence. Hate will not overcome hate. Only love can.
Choose
We believe nonviolence is a choice, an action, and a way of life. It is not passive. It demands courage.
Build
We believe the best way to dismantle violence is to build the beloved community.
We believe it is possible to resist revenge, resist hate, and choose peace.
Resist
Embrace
We believe only by embracing nonviolence can we outrun, outlast, and overcome hate.
Learn
We believe nonviolence can be learned, and as we put it into practice, things change. We've seen it happen.
We believe that conflicts can be resolved peacefully through a commitment to nonviolence.
Commit
Work
We believe change happens locally, when we work on the ground, helping people deal with conflict on a human, personal level.
Collaborate
We believe in radical collaboration. We all learn from each other. No one person or organization can defuse and dismantle violence alone.
OUR APPROACH
Our approach to ending gun violence is rooted in the principles of nonviolence, hyper-local, trauma-informed, and restorative.
Principles of Nonviolence: Everything we do draws from Dr. King’s principles of nonviolence, which state that violence is learned, cyclical, and systemic. So we’re here to unlearn violence, break the cycle, and change the system.
Hyper-local: The Institute for Nonviolence Chicago has positioned itself intentionally in Austin, Back of the Yards, and West Garfield Park so that we can truly be part of the communities we work with. Not only are we located inside the neighborhoods we help, but those same neighborhoods are ones a majority of our team members come from. Whether they currently live in these communities, grew up there, or have worked there for years, our team has established, trusting relationships inside the neighborhoods we support. We believe that change happens through relationships, so we continue to build trusting relationships with individuals and communities most impacted by violence.
Trauma-informed: Where there is violence, there are decades of trauma behind these cycles. This is why we are sensitive to trauma and the many ways it impacts people throughout their lives. We support people who are both directly and indirectly exposed to violence and connect them to whatever services they need to help them move through their pain.
Restorative Justice: We believe when people are in crisis, they need support. We support our communities before and after a crisis, and we stay with participants along their journey towards peace. Cognitive behavioral interventions and social-emotional learning infused in our work development programs help individuals regulate emotions and develop problem-solving and conflict resolution skills. Our participants receive intensive mentorship and nonviolence training while working towards establishing their personal safety and developing pro-social behaviors to gain employment in the legal economy.