From Survival to Salvation: Chicago’s Former Members of Street Organizations Break Bread, Call for Peace and Unity


From Survival to Salvation: Chicago’s Former Members of Street Organizations Break Bread, Call for Peace and Unity

At a ‑Pre-Thanksgiving Peace Dinner, Men Who Endured the City’s Most Violent Era Recommit to Saving Lives—Not for Awards or Recognition, but to Coach Youth Away from Deadly Paths.

They survived the most violent era in Chicago history, when homicides soared past 900 a year and drugs terrorized neighborhoods. Now, these former members of street organizations are mature men who refuse to see the past repeated.

Friday evening, they gathered at the Greater St. John Bible Church, 1256 N. Waller Ave., in the city’s Austin neighborhood, for a ‑pre-Thanksgiving Peace Dinner hosted by Violence Interrupters Inc.—not for fanfare, interviews, or awards, but to show by action that change is possible.

Tables arranged in a square became neutral ground for conversation. Over plates of fried chicken, barbecue ribs, potato salad, and holiday staples, men who once stood on opposite sides of the street life reconnect. They were reluctant to be interviewed or photographed and asked not to be showcased. Their presence alone was the message: they are thankful to be alive, grateful to save lives, and committed to continuing peace circles and ‑on‑one interventions with youth before violence turns deadly.

Tio “Mr. Ceasefire” Hardiman, founder and executive director of Violence Interrupters Inc., and host of the dinner, underscored the impact of these interventions:

“We’ve saved lives by stepping in before bullets fly,” Hardiman said. “Every time a young man chooses peace instead of violence, that’s a life spared. These men are living proof that transformation is possible, and their example is why Chicago is turning the corner.”

With 366 homicides recorded as of mid-November, Chicago is on track to finish the year below 400 for the first time in decades. City officials have credited grassroots partnerships with organizations like Violence Interrupters Inc. for this historic decline.

Hardiman said the Violence Interrupters left the dinner motivated to do more to save lives, including participating in peace circles and interventions to reach youth and young men before their conflicts turn deadly. Hardiman said he will continue to work with community organizations, churches, and businesses to host events that bring together teens, young men, and former street organization leaders to call for peace and nonviolence.

About Tio Hardiman: Dubbed “Mr. CeaseFire,” Tio Hardiman created the award-winning CeaseFire initiative in 2004 and has been dedicated to combating problems of violence and corruption in the nation’s third-largest city. Hardiman is also the creator of the critically acclaimed documentary The Interrupters (2011) and, in 2017, decided to produce a second film, The Chicago Way, as a response to Chicago’s political corruption, police brutality, and the continued gun violence. Using his platform, Hardiman entered the 2018 Gubernatorial race against Democrat powerhouses like JB Pritzker and Chris Kennedy. He ran his campaign on the principles of combating violence, racism, and the top-down corruption that has been taking place for decades in Illinois. On April 26, 2020, Mr. Hardiman launched the “Tio Mr. Ceasefire Hardiman Show on WVON 1690 AM in Chicago, which airs on Sundays between 6 AM and 7 AM. For additional information on Tio Hardiman and Violence Interrupters, visit https://www.violenceinterrupters.org/. We encourage media outlets to attend and cover this powerful gathering, as your role in spreading this message of hope and transformation is crucial. To schedule an interview with Mr. Hardiman, contact Jerry Thomas at (312) 212-8955, or jerry@jerrythomaspr.com.

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