YOU are a Remedy for Violence!

by Lori Crowder
Executive Director
Alliance of Local Service Organizations (ALSO)

Thank you to everyone who participated in yesterday’s peace rally at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, hosted by the Logan Square Ecumenical Alliance and the Alliance of Local Service Organizations.

You were among approximately 75 people from Logan Square and Humboldt Park who committed to becoming a Remedy for Violence! And you helped bring the message to a wide audience through coverage by Univision, the Chicago Tribune, and others!

Banner signed by participants in Sunday's event
(Design: Andy Willis)

Among the many good ideas shared at the rally, here are 10 ways you can become a remedy for violence:

1. Avoid using phrases like “those people” in favor of inserting the name of someone you love or care about with the experience you are describing.
2. Become a mentor to a young person.
3. Hire a young person in your local business.
4. Prevent young people from dropping out of school through individual and collective action.
5. Support youth leadership.
6. Prevent the “school to military pipeline” by advocating against community schools becoming military academies.
7. Help people with criminal records successfully transition back to society.
8. Join the social justice action groups at local churches for further discussion of the root causes of violence - St. Luke’s Lutheran Church (militarism), Kimball Avenue Church (mass incarceration), First Lutheran Church of Logan Square (poverty and homelessness), and Humboldt Park United Methodist Church (deportation).
9. Contact your state legislator to ensure future funding for CeaseFire.
10. Attend a “Your Life is My Life: Ending Violence Starts With Me” training to learn how to become an active bystander to prevent and safely intervene in violence.

On Saturday, June 8th, we will host ALSO’s 18th Annual Walk for Peace and will welcome you to share your stories about addressing violence in your streets, homes and schools.

Save the date, and stay tuned for a formal invitation!