In a recent announcement made by several Chicago sports franchises, the Chicago Sports Alliance, in a collaboration with the Chicago Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs and White Sox that began in 2017, said it will now move forward for a fourth year to combine the reach and resources of the iconic franchises in support of impactful, evidence-based solutions to gun violence in the city.
The group, along with the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, will provide a total of $1.5 million in grants to support READI Chicago (Rapid Employment and Development Initiative) and the University of Chicago Crime Lab.
“Our partnership with the Chicago Sports Alliance really embodies the collaborative, citywide approach that we need to combat gun violence in our city,” said READI Chicago Senior Director Eddie Bocanegra via a Chicago Bears press release.
“The support of the Sports Alliance helps us continue to deliver strong programming to some of our most marginalized Chicagoans, but more importantly, it emphasizes to the men we work with that they are valuable and have the support of the Chicago community behind them.”
READI Chicago, which has been supported by the Alliance for three years, is a gun violence reduction initiative that engages those at the highest risk of being shot or of shooting someone else, and has given hundreds of men the opportunity to participate in 18 months of focused transitional job training and cognitive behavioral interventions.
With sites serving Austin, Englewood, North Lawndale, Greater Englewood and West Garfield Park, READI Chicago is the first program of its scope, scale and participant population ever to be implemented.
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected].
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago.
