Institute for Nonviolence Chicago, UCAN Featured In Block Club Chicago for Ongoing CVI Efforts on City’s West Side

After a recent spike in shootings on Chicago’s West Side, several community organizations and local activists are amplifying their efforts to help to curb violent incidents in their communities. 

The Institute for Nonviolence Chicago and UCAN were recently featured in Block Club Chicago for their ongoing Community Violence Intervention (CVI) work on the city’s West Side. From mediating conflicts to providing helpful resources to hosting Light in the Night events, these organizations are playing a critical role in keeping residents safe.

The rise in crime is trending higher than this time in 2025 when the city and especially the West Side experienced historic lows. According to Chicago’s Violence Prevention Dashboard, Austin, North Lawndale, East and West Garfield Park are seeing a nearly 20 percent increase in shootings in the last few weeks, compared to this time last year. 

However, the same neighborhoods are experiencing an overall 5 percent decrease in shooting victims so far this year.

While the numbers rise and fall, these dedicated CVI professionals recognize the real, human lives behind the data, and use that as fuel to keep going.

“We’re in a difficult stretch, and we experience these each year, but people need to understand that progress is real, it’s just fragile,” said Edwin Galletti, Vice President of Violence Intervention and Prevention Services at UCAN. “The data can tell us that violence has decreased, but you can’t use statistics to tell a mother or a senior how safe they should feel.”

Read the full story here.