testing An
innovative approach
to Reducing
gun violence
in chicago
Scaling Community Violence Intervention for a Safer Chicago (SC2) is an innovative public-private initiative uniting practitioners, philanthropy, business and government to implement and test new approaches to addressing violence in seven Chicago communities experiencing high levels of violence.
CVI in Chicago Has Proven Results
Independent evaluations of CVI programs by the University of Chicago Crime Lab and Northwestern University CORNERS have shown promising evidence of impact for some participants, which includes:
65%
Reduction in arrests for shootings and homicides after 20 months of CVI programming
73%
Less likely to have an arrest for a violent crime in 2 years following enrollment, among those who completed programming
42%
Fewer gunshot victimizations in the 18 months after accessing services
SC2's Bold Hypothesis
If SC2 successfully facilitates peace among groups in conflict, integrates high-quality delivery of five core services, uses multi-source data to inform decision-making, and reaches at least 75% of the individuals in a community at the highest risk of violence, then there will be fewer shootings and homicides and, through spill-over effects, the overall environment of physical safety will change, further reducing shootings and retaliatory shootings, the incentive to carry weapons, and other conditions that fuel gun violence.
A Timeline of Action, Evidence, and Collaboration
2016
A City in Crisis
Following the tragic killing of Laquan McDonald, Chicago experienced a sharp rise in gun violence. This catalyzed a new urgency to supplement policing and systemic reforms with community-based interventions focused on those at highest risk.
2017–2019
Laying the Groundwork for CVI
Early investments in Community Violence Intervention (CVI) programs like READI Chicago, Chicago CRED, and Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P) begin to show promising results. These programs provide outreach, trauma care, and life pathways for individuals most likely to be involved in gun violence.
2020–2021
Violence Resurges, Commitment Deepens
Chicago faced another surge in violence amid the COVID-19 pandemic and national unrest after the murder of George Floyd. In response, civic, philanthropic, and government leaders initiated conversations to scale CVI citywide through a coordinated strategy.
2022
The North Lawndale Pilot Begins
North Lawndale served as a beta community, where implementation of a comprehensive CVI strategy began. This provided critical lessons in coalition building, program design, and service integration to guide future citywide efforts.
Early 2024
SC2 Is Born
Scaling Community Violence Intervention for a Safer Chicago (SC2) is launched. Backed by a historic public-private collaboration, including PSPC, Chicago CRED, MPI, and the Civic Committee, SC2 aims to scale CVI to reach 50% of high-risk individuals within five years and 75% within ten.
Today
A Movement in Motion
SC2 is actively expanding CVI services across multiple neighborhoods, coordinating funding, training frontline workers, and measuring impact. With a growing momentum, SC2 is turning research into action and action into peace.
See our COMMUNITIES page for updates on our SC2 community coalitions.
SC2 is a joint initiative of:
