CHICAGO — Chicago is on track for its lowest homicide total in over a decade, and some of the credit is going to people who aren’t in uniform: street outreach workers operating in high-risk neighborhoods like West Garfield Park.
At the forefront is Frederick Seaton, a former inmate turned peacebuilder, now leading a team with the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago. Their mission: stop the next shooting before it happens — not through force, but through relationships, credibility, and timing.
“We’ve been chipping at it and chipping at it. Now, we’re seeing some of the results,” Seaton told WBEZ Chicago.
The Strategy: Interrupt Violence Before It Spreads
When a shooting occurred near West Madison Street, Seaton’s phone lit up. One of his workers was already there. A 33-year-old man was dying from gunshot wounds…