Program Goals/Target Population
Cure Violence (formerly known as CeaseFire-Chicago) is a Chicago, Illinois–based violence prevention program administered by the Chicago Project for Violence Prevention. Cure Violence uses a public health approach to reduce shootings and killings by using highly trained street violence interrupters and outreach workers, public education campaigns, and community mobilization. Rather than aiming to directly change the behaviors of a large number of individuals, Cure Violence concentrates on changing the behavior and risky activities of a small number of selected members of the community who have a high chance of either "being shot" or "being a shooter" in the immediate future.
Program Theory
Three causal factors are emphasized in the program theory underlying Cure Violence: norms, decisions, and risks. These were seen as three "levers" that could be "pulled" to stop shootings in the city. Cure Violence's interventions are based on a coherent theory of behavior that specifies the "inputs" to be assembled and set in motion and how they cause the "outcomes," including reductions in shootings and killings. Many of the program’s daily activities target the causal factors linking inputs to outcomes, which were presumed to be among the major determinates of violence. The causal factors that are believed to contribute to violence include community norms, availability of on-the-spot alternatives to resorting to violence when the situation arises, and awareness of the risks and costs associated with violence.
Program Components
The activities of Cure Violence are organized into five core components that address both the community and those individuals who are most at risk of involvement in a shooting or killing:
- Street-level outreach
- Public education
- Community mobilization
- Faith leader (clergy) involvement
- Police and prosecutor participation
The program aims to change operative norms regarding violence, both in the wider community and among its clients through community mobilization, a public education campaign, and mentoring efforts of outreach workers who attempt to influence beliefs about the appropriateness of violence. Outreach workers are charged with stimulating norm change among clients and guiding them toward alternatives to shooting as a way of solving problems. Outreach workers counsel a small group of young clients, who are recruited from the streets and not through institutions, and connect them to a range of services. The outreach workers also conduct a significantly high number of conflict mediations. The efforts of the clergy and residents of the community are also aimed primarily at norm change, both in the community and among clients of the outreach workers and other high-risk youths. Community involvement also targets the perceived costs of violence. The public education campaign seeks both to change violence-related norms and to enhance the perception of the risks of engaging in violence.
In addition, the program provides on-the-spot alternatives to violence when gangs and individuals on the street are making behavior decisions. The program treats young people as rational actors capable of making choices, and the strategy is to promote their consideration of a broader array of response to situations that too often elicit shootings and killings as a problem-solving tactic. Violence interrupters work on the streets alone or in pairs to mediate conflicts between gangs and stem the cycle of retaliatory violence that threatens to break out following a shooting. Violence interrupters work the street at night, talking to gang leaders, distraught friends and relatives of recent shooting victims, and others who are positioned to initiate or sustain cycles of violence.
Finally, the program aims to increase the perception of risks and costs of involvement in violence among high-risk, mostly young people. This reflects a classic deterrence model of human behavior, with risks such as incarceration, injury, and death highlighted for youth. Actions by the police and prosecutors, as well as tougher antigun legislation, are seen as targeting the risks surrounding involvement in shootings.
