Cynthia Leal, Victim Advocate at New Life Centers: Women ‘Need to Be Supported’

Community violence intervention (CVI) programs have the power to save and change lives for participants, and sometimes, those participants become empowered enough to turn around and provide that same advocacy for others. This much is true for Cynthia Leal, Victim Advocate for New Life Centers in Chicago’s Little Village. Her involvement with the organization, a member of the Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P) coalition, has provided a gateway towards stability for herself, her family, and the community she calls home.

At New Life, Cynthia is an advocate for victims of violence, serving as a frontline responder and bridge to vital sources of support. She is also soon to be the first from New Life Centers to complete all three signature trainings available at the Metropolitan Peace Academy (MPA): Victim Advocacy, Outreach, and now, Case Management. “I wanted to know everything,” she says.

Cynthia grew up in Little Village, and spent her youth “unfortunately, gang-banging and selling drugs” in the very place she now serves as an advocate for victims of violence. Her life changed completely when her son and his friend were wrongly incarcerated for first-degree murder. Cynthia and her family’s life began to spiral as they survived homelessness, poverty, and the untimely death of her beloved husband in January 2020. “We lost everything,” she shared.

After her husband’s passing, Cynthia suffered a deep depression. It was when she met New Life Victim Services Coordinator David Alvarez that her healing journey began. With his help, Cynthia was able to enroll her sons in New Life programs, attend Bible Study, and finally begin to rebuild her life. “I kept coming back,” she said, “because I knew if I didn’t get up and go, I would never go back.”

Her career as a Victim Advocate didn’t begin until her son’s best friend suffered a violent death just two years later. “He was a kid I’ve known since he was a baby. I wanted to go see his mom, but I didn’t have a car.” A Victim Advocate from New Life, Olivia Gonzales, brought Cynthia along on a visit to pay her respects. “As they talked about finding funeral homes, I was listening to everything they were doing. I asked if I could help. I said, ‘I don’t have the money to help her, but the least I can do is help her find a funeral home, help her find a cemetery, help her find some resources. As we left, she told me I would make a good victim advocate. And I said ‘no way!’”

But when the application for a new Victim Advocate opened, Cynthia applied. With help, she was able to get her birth certificate, social security, and medical records, allowing her to finally achieve her long-term goals of housing, employment, and stability in less than six months. “I have not looked back since.”

Cynthia now acts as a caregiver in her community, being there for people’s most vulnerable moments. She draws upon her experiences overcoming adversity: “This work means everything to me. I grew up in this neighborhood. I’ve lost friends, I’ve gone to funerals and burials. I’ve helped other parents do funerals. So, it’s not like I was new to it. The only difference is now there’s a paycheck attached to it.”

“In my heart, I know I’m where I belong, being able to help families in their time of need, when they’re most vulnerable, when they need somebody to advocate for them, somebody who’s going to be there and not let people take advantage of them.”

Cynthia’s status in the neighborhood as a lifetime resident and experience raising her kids has given her the authority to command respect: “I know most of the kids in the neighborhood… They don’t try it with me.” Still, even with all the respect Cynthia has earned, she says her gender has at times made it harder for her to be taken seriously when mediating conflict. “It’s hard for women, because sometimes dealing with men, they don’t respect you.”

Cynthia says women in community violence intervention are often seen as a “buffer” or interrupter of potential violence. But Cynthia says women don’t just act as buffers in tense situations — they also act as therapists, mothers, sisters, “everything.”  

“With CVI, you have to be on call 24/7. A lot of people don’t want to do that.” Because this work is so important, it’s even more crucial that women are protected as they navigate risky situations. “When we go out on calls, we need to have somebody there with us, whether it be another woman or man, to help us no matter what the situation is.”

Her dedication to the work is sustained by her connection to the women and mothers in New Life’s grief groups. What was once a refuge for Cynthia to mourn and process the loss of her husband and others became a place of leadership and empowerment. Her influence has meant the group has tried art therapy, painting, and have even traveled together.

“I feel like I belong there. I can relate to a lot of the moms there,” Cynthia said. “We feel like we’re a family.”