New class at Malcolm X College teaching victim advocates how to respond to gun violence
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Data show there were nearly 2,300 shooting incidents across Chicago in 2024. The shootings left behind thousands of victims, many with some serious trauma.
A new class of victim advocates is being trained on how to respond to the city's gun violence epdidemic.
The lessons being taught to victim advocates are aimed at interrupting cycles of violence by training them on the best ways they can lend a helping hand.
"Sometimes people don't want to hear a cliché or a platitude; you know, the common one: time heal heals all wounds. It doesn't. Like, sometimes it does, but some people do get worse as time goes on if their trauma and grief is not addressed," said Pedro Gonzalez, one of the newest graduates of a pilot program that wrapped up last month.
He's been an advocate for years with the group Chicago Survivors, but said the curriculum in the new victim advocate training program at Malcolm X College was still eye-opening for him.
The course – offered in collaboration with the City of Chicago, the Chicago Department of Public Health, and the Mayor's Office for Community Safety – teaches students everything from how to speak compassionately to victims and their families in the moments after a shooting to therapy options and helping them navigate the legal system.
"This training marks the beginning of a larger effort to strengthen support networks for survivors of violence across the city. By investing in training and education, the City of Chicago continues to demonstrate a commitment to safety, healing, and community resilience," the Chicago Department of Public Health said.
Gonzalez said this kind of trauma literacy can make a difference in interrupting cycles of violence and preventing retaliation shootings. He said it could be something as simple as the way you speak to someone at the scene of a violent crime.
After a shooting, crime scene tape often goes hand in hand with lighting candles, gathering flowers and releasing balloons into the sky, but many communities are left wondering what can they really do to help in the wake of violent crime?
"I just want to know how to be a good neighbor if, you know, God forbid, someone on my block gets killed," Gonzalez said.
While shootings in Chicago were down last year about by about 7% compared to 2023, Chicago Police Department data showed there were still 2,283 shootings across the city, and 572 murders – which was a drop of 8% from 2023.
Each shooting incident can result in more than one victim.
"When people go to a crime scene and it's their loved one behind the yellow tape, especially if this is for the vast majority of people, you know, this is the first time they've ever lost someone to homicide, they don't know what CPD, you know, police procedure is at the crime scene. They don't know what the procedure is when they go to the hospital, if they have to go to the medical examiner's office, or any of that," Gonzalez said.
Deputy Mayor of Community Safety Garien Gatewood said the course is an important part of what the Johnson administration calls "The People's Plan for Community Safety."
"We're excited about the next cohort, and we're going to continue to do this; because, again, ultimately, it's our responsibility to work together in collaboration with communities to make sure people get the resources and the services that they need," he said.
Gatewood said the city is doubling down on their commitment to gun violence prevention with a focus on survivors, and it's happening just as the Biden administration's White House Gun Violence Prevention website was taken offline earlier this week after President Trump began his second term.
The first cohort of students in the Malcolm X program was all advocates already working in victim advocacy, but the plan is to open it up to everyone in the future.
For more information about the Victim Advocates training program or to learn about upcoming opportunities, please contact Stephaney Harris, Victim Services Lead at Stephaney.Harris@cityofchicago.org.
