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CHICAGO (WLS) — Hundreds of young people took a pledge to be an ambassador of peace in their communities.
The UCAN Chicago initiative, which collaborates with underrepresented youth, organized the pledge event for the first time in light of the usual rise in violence during the holiday weekend.
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On Wednesday, almost 200 young individuals committed to addressing gun violence in their neighborhoods. Many participants expressed that their involvement in the program serves as a tribute to the friends and family they have lost.
UCAN members are changing the narrative of gun violence this summer.
“My boyfriend, he died in February,” UCAN peacekeeper Kayla Medina said. “It just really pushed me to keep going hard.”
I genuinely think most of our youth are eager to be a part of the solution. They may just be unsure of how to proceed, and this provides them with a clear path and the opportunity to express these intentions openly.
Christa Hamilton, UCAN CEO
Medina was one of nearly 200 people age 16 to 25 who made the decision to stand against violence by taking the UCAN pledge at Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church on the South Side.
“It really gave me like relief, because it just shows me that even though he’s not here, I’m still living for him,” Medina said.
Last year, 109 people were shot, 19 fatally, in gun violence across Chicago over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. It’s a big reason why the UCAN program provides young people employment readiness preparation and gives them a chance to participate in job shadowing with over 50 employer-partners.
More importantly, UCAN is changing lives.
“I’ve been homeless about about three, four months before coming to UCAN,” peacekeeper Tatiana Woods said. “And then, ever since I came to UCAN… UCAN has been helping me better myself.”
The program, which has served as a sanctuary for trauma experience from gun violence, has inspired those like Woods to become a mentor to younger kids.
“I actually believe most of our children want to be a part of the solution,” UCAN CEO Christa Hamilton. “They just might not know how, and this gives them the avenue and something very tangible to speak these words out loud.”
“I never thought I’d be the one to do that. I never thought it,” Woods said. “But working, working with them, UCAN, it really changed my life.”
UCAN said they plan to have all 700 youth they work with to take the pledge, with a big celebration at the end of the year.
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