‘This Work Is Life or Death’: North Lawndale Collaborative Hosts Quarterly Community Meeting on CVI Efforts and Public Safety

It was a packed house at the North Lawndale Collaborative‘s (NLC) quarterly community meeting, as residents, Community Violence Intervention (CVI) professionals, and elected officials gathered to hear insights on the work being done on the ground to combat violence in the area.

Among the resources shared and personal testimonies, attendees received an overview of the progress happening in their neighborhood, led by Chicago CRED Strategic Initiatives Manager Cedric Hawkins. Of note, in 2025, North Lawndale experienced its lowest year of shootings in the last 10 years, and there were 155 fewer shootings compared to a spike in 2021.

While North Lawndale is only seeing a slight overall decrease in shootings and homicides for 2026, the area is still outperforming citywide numbers as a whole, which are up a few percentage points. Year to date, Chicago has seen a 4.4% increase in all shootings, compared to North Lawndale, which has seen a 5.8% decrease in all shootings.

Christa Hamilton, President and CEO of UCAN, acknowledged the headway being made by the dedicated individuals representing organizations such as Chicago CRED, Communities Partnering 4 Peace, Metropolitan Peace Initiatives, Acclivus, BUILD Chicago, the Firehouse Community Arts Center of Chicago, and more. Many of their staff filled the room, only further showing the power of collaboration and community.

“We can’t arrest our way out of the problem,” said Hamilton. “That means all the amazing interventions that we’re doing in all our organizations are working.”

“I am so happy and proud to stand beside you all as we do this very important work,” continued Hamilton. “This work is life or death, and I don’t know if people really understand how important it is. People’s lives are hanging in the balance [with the] decisions that we make each and every day we walk through the doors of our job… I love the fact that in this season of CVI, we’re not only talking about saving lives anymore, now we’re talking about how to improve those lives that we save.”

From street outreach to behavioral health services to workforce development and more, these essential CVI strategies are keeping residents safe and giving them the tools to thrive. Raahsaan Brown, Senior Manager of the NLC at Chicago CRED, spoke firsthand about the effectiveness of CVI and how it changed the trajectory of his life.

“I was out there doing everything that we are trying to get our young men and women not to do. I was tearing down my community and I wasn’t putting [anything] back,” Brown said, while also acknowledging the difficult circumstances and trauma he grew up around. “I always said if God gave me a second chance, I want to do something different, and I think this is my life’s work.”

Brown says his mission, like many others in the room, is to extend that second chance to other individuals looking to make a change. It’s a mission that also requires collective buy-in from the community and city at large.

As the meeting began to wrap, residents were given the floor to express their thoughts about community issues, many hoping for more employment opportunities, activities for the youth, accountability amongst neighbors, and increased funding for vital resources.

As ideas swirled around the room, Brown encouraged, “Let’s connect and talk about collaboration.”