Fredrick Seaton’s mornings are typically calm. We find ourselves clustered around a table at the headquarters of the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago, located on the city’s West Side. Seaton, however, seems distracted by the continuous buzzing of his mobile phone. Suddenly, he takes a call from one of the outreach workers he manages in West Garfield Park – a community wherein they both were raised.
A recent shooting incident close to West Madison Street, the area’s central hub, has disrupted the tranquility of the morning. The outreach worker at the site informs Seaton about two victims, a male and a female. Seaton’s outreach team is already investigating the motives that ignited this uproar, focusing on gathering data about the victims’ families.
The main purpose, Seaton explains, is to identify individuals who might be inclined to seek revenge. He goes on to explain, every family has an impulsive cousin or a volatile family member. Not long after this call, Seaton’s phone brings news of yet another bleak development: the local authorities have confirmed the shooting.
Sadly, the male victim, aged 33 who had sustained gunshot injuries to his chest, succumbed to his injuries. Seaton, whilst maintaining his professional demeanor, proposes to continue with our laid-out interview agenda. Yet, he also expresses his intention to personally visit the crime location and collaborate with his team on an informed response.
Seaton, extending a cordial invite, offers me the opportunity to accompany him, allowing an up-close experience of community violence intervention (CVI). This publicly funded strategy is an integral part of their street outreach program. ‘We’ve been in this fight for years,’ Seaton, 66, remarks, emphasizing the credibility his team has established amongst the West Garfield Park inhabitants and the succeeding drop in the neighborhood’s shooting incidents.
Seaton quotes, ‘We’ve been persistently battling this, witnessing incremental progress at every juncture.’ Progress, for Seaton and his team, is visible in the city’s shrinking racial safety disparity, which saw an unforeseen rise between 2016 and 2020 due to factors like deteriorating police community relations, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the tragedy of George Floyd’s murder. But since 2021, there is some light at the end of the tunnel as violence figures have begun to dip.
This promising transformation is easily observed in the safety gap – a statistic quantifying the disparity in murder rates across racial lines. For instance, Black Chicagoans, throughout the current year, have faced homicide rates 19 times higher than their white counterparts. But notably, among the Chicago city regions where crime rates have seen a drastic fall, West Garfield Park stands out.
Over the 18 year journey that Seaton embarked upon, numerous individuals have been lauded for their contributions to improving public safety in Chicago, from police officers to mentors. Organizations like the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago, Seaton’s current workplace, have significantly driven this positive change, with intense focus on various West Side and South Side localities.
When informed about a security breach, Seaton’s first stop is the crime scene. Here, he identifies the root cause of the conflict, be it domestic violence, personal altercations, or feuds among narcotic dealers or gang members. In West Garfield Park alone, there are around 24 fractions, making the situation complex.
Following initial investigations, Seaton moves on to the hospital. This transition is crucial, as efforts to mitigate any potential revenges take place in these settings. Here, his team aims to lend an empathetic ear to the families, validate their emotions, and gather essential details to shape their next steps.
Most importantly, their mission is to deter any impending act of retributive violence. This method of handling has been put into effect innumerable times by Seaton’s team and other outreach workers from the institute. Despite the proliferation of firearms in the city, especially in West Garfield Park, there exist resources capable of preventing revenge actions.
Once the groundwork is done, Seaton retreats to his office, bringing his team together to strategize their next steps. This would typically involve designing a blueprint aimed at averting any future shootings.