Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, CVI Leaders Discuss Gun Violence Prevention at DNC Panel Discussion

(L-R) Chicago CRED Director of CVI Innovation Curtis Toler, Institute for Nonviolence Chicago Executive Director Teny Gross, GIFFORDS Policy Director and moderator Mike McLively, Breakthrough Urban Ministries Executive Director Yolanda Fields, and U.S. State Senator (D-CT) Chris Murphy discuss community violence intervention (CVI) efforts in Illinois at a panel discussion during the Democratic National Convention on Monday, August 19, 2024.

The work of community violence intervention (CVI) took center stage at a panel discussion during the Democratic National Convention hosted by GIFFORDS, G-PAC, and Chicago CRED on Monday, August 19, 2024 in Chicago. The focus specifically centered on the efforts being done across Illinois to reduce gun violence and keep our communities safe.

Institute for Nonviolence Chicago Executive Director Teny Gross and Breakthrough Urban Ministries Executive Director Yolanda Fields were both in attendance to speak on the panel and represent Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P). The collective works across 28 neighborhoods in Chicago to help reduce gun violence with a variety of wraparound services.

The pair were also joined by Chicago CRED Director of CVI Innovation Curtis Toler, U.S. State Senator (D-CT) Chris Murphy, and moderator Mike McLively, who serves as GIFFORDS Policy Director. Former Congresswoman and GIFFORDS Founder Gabrielle Giffords provided opening remarks, imploring all those in attendance to stand up in the fight against gun violence.

“America needs all of us to speak out, even when you have to fight to find the words. I’m in the fight to stop gun violence,” said Giffords, who knows the horrors all too well. On January 8, 2011, Giffords was shot in the head during a mass shooting that claimed the lives of six individuals in Tucson, Arizona. Surviving the incident, she’s now used her platform to advocate for change and make our country safer for all.

“[CVI] can change lives. We are at a crossroads — we can let the shooting continue, or we can act. We can protect our families, our futures. We can vote. We can be on the right side of history,” Giffords said.

The panel went on to discuss the groundbreaking work of CVI on a local and national level, pinpointing how the model works, why it works, and why it’s important to fund the strategies that are saving lives every day.

“I believe in lives. And I believe that those lives shouldn’t just be lived, but they should be lived abundantly and that people should thrive,” said Fields. She highlighted how Breakthrough Urban Ministries, along with other CP4P organizations, focuses on CVI through street outreach, education, economic development, youth development, housing assistance, and more.

Gross also spoke about the dedication of CVI professionals who are in and of the communities affected by gun violence across Chicago and how they’re fired up to make the streets safer. These individuals have a “license to operate” (LTO), or street cred, from their lived experiences and are trusted by the community to keep the peace.

“The young people are working to stop retaliation. It is their network that is involved, and they’re pulling each other out,” Gross said. “When one gets an opportunity, a second gets an opportunity. They keep pulling each other out. Before, they had no hope. Hope is an amazing thing, if it’s followed by concrete action.”

Across Illinois, CVI works to provide street outreach, behavioral health, case management, victim services, legal aid, and workforce development to communities dealing with the highest levels of gun violence. Earlier this year, Governor J.B. Pritzker and other state lawmakers approved the state budget to include nearly $175 million toward CVI work under the Reimagine Public Safety Act.

“To do the serious work [of CVI] — if we’re serious — it’s what we’re building here in Chicago,” Gross said. “I just pray every day that it’s sustainable. It should be. […] It’s the proper way.”