Two days after a UPS driver was shot in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, activists and social service workers community members gathered under the blistering summer sun Thursday to denounce gun violence against essential workers.
More than a dozen people stood at a shaded corner on North Trumbull Avenue near the scene of the shooting to bring attention to community-based solutions to gun violence. Chicago police are still investigating the shooting that left a 32-year-old UPS driver injured.
Letter carriers have also been on alert for much of the year following a rash of armed robberies, where packages or the carrier’s master key are taken.
“Our mail services are not being delivered because of the crimes. I’m begging and I’m pleading that the violence has to stop. We can no longer live like this,” said Zerlina Smith-Members, a South Austin resident and activist at the news conference. A yellow DHL delivery truck drove past the group as Smith-Members addressed reporters and residents, calling for peace.
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“This is a mental issue that is affecting not just the people that are shooters, but the people that live in the community. Please put the guns down because everyone deserves to go home to see their family,” she said.
Tio Hardiman, executive director of the group Violence Interrupters, said he’s noticed an increasing recent trend of violence against workers like ride-share drivers, pizza deliverers and postal workers. In February, a ride-share driver was fatally shot in Little Italy.
Workers shouldn’t be fearful of doing their jobs in the neighborhood, Hardiman said. “Some people may not get their bills or whatever the case may be, but it’s really like a totally unacceptable crime.”
Hardiman and others walked in the summer heat to pass out information on community resources in an effort to curb local gun violence. Stacks of informational flyers, also used as fans in the high temperatures, dwindled as organizers passed them out.
“Let’s not run essential workers out of the neighborhood,” Hardiman told the Tribune. “This is unacceptable.”
He said it’s not just about asking people to stop shooting, which is “just the tip of the iceberg,” but about addressing the structural trauma within communities.
Mental health experts from BUILD Chicago, a violence prevention and youth development organization on the West Side, were present to provide services to the neighborhood.
Clifton “Booney” McFowler, an outreach worker for BUILD, said everyone is a victim in these situations – from the residents of violent communities to the perpetrators.
“They’re angry at their circumstances, and they’re lashing out the only way they know how to and it’s through violence,” McFowler said. “We’re here to show them other means and how to navigate through trauma opposed to retaliation, violence.”
He said most communities aren’t aware of resources like BUILD or other organizations, which is why they’re often in areas following incidents like this to inform people of their programming.
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“Our theory is we are going to give them something else to do and replace the violence. We’re not going to just tell them ‘Don’t shoot,’” McFowler said.
Amanda Cimaroli, a therapist at BUILD, walked down North Trumbull Avenue with other volunteers wearing a purple T-shirt with their logo. She said the persistent threat of violence negatively impacts mental health as much as experiencing it firsthand.
“Our team is available to provide responsive services. So that way when things happen, we can go and we can provide support where there typically wouldn’t be,” Cimaroli said.
Cimaroli and those in violence prevention space said the goal is to change the minds of people in this community, then get them involved in the work.
To address violence against postal workers, Hardiman wants to set up a community watch group through his organization and use violence interrupters, in order to keep them safe during the day. Part of that will involve talking to law enforcement, he said. Violence interruption was a core concept with Hardiman’s former organization, CeaseFire.
“We don’t want to have a situation where people cannot deliver your mail and all that kind of good stuff,” Hardiman said. “Everybody here, we need our mail. Period.”
