Alex Kotlowitz & Tim White

Fair Game – Alex Kotlowitz & Tim White
Writer Alex Kotlowitz and former gang member Tim White talk about CeaseFire, an organization that sends former gang leaders into the streets of Chicago to try and prevent retaliatory acts of violence.

Homicide rates have been declining nationally, but in many inner city neighborhoods, the cycle of gang violence and revenge remains unbroken. One killing leads to another, leads to another, leads to another. Two weekends ago in Chicago, thirty-six people were shot, and seven of them died – it’s already been dubbed the “weekend of rage.” But what if you could stop violence before it spreads? An organization in Chicago called CeaseFire is treating violence as a public health crisis. It’s sending former high level gang members onto the streets to seek out and prevent shootings. They’re called violence interrupters.
Tim White is former gang member who now works as a violence interrupter with CeaseFire. Alex Kotlowitz wrote about CeaseFire and their model of applying public health strategies to combat street violence in yesterday’s New York Times Magazine.