The round table of thought leaders and educators, as well as freedom fighters focused on the upcoming monumental film screening and the reasoning and solutions for excessive youth violence in urban America. Each person sharing the microphone with Dr. Adams lent their enormous voices to the issue of violence and lack of resources pushed to combat the mental epidemic.
 |
| Dr. Eric Whitaker, Dr. Carol Adams, Ameena Mathews and Tio Hardiman after taping at WVON studio (Ptoto: A. Westerfield) |
Dr. Eric Whitaker, vice president at the University of Chicago's Urban Health Initiative (UHI) has done his share and then some to assure that the powerful institution he represents covers the Southside of Chicago with added resources to research and combat heath concerns. And with youth violence becoming an issue deeply rooted in mental instability, he and the university are committed to solving, if not decreasing its violent impact.
Tio Hardiman, director of CeaseFire Illinois has been facing violence and its interruption on families throughout the state for decades. His knowledge and experience has been reviewed and the model he created has been replicated by agencies in major cities across the country.
Ameena Mathews has been preventing violent acts of aggression from occurring in her community for years and she's been applauded nationally for her courage and commitment to assuring that as many young people as possible are deterred from violent behavior.
Together, with the initial support of Chicago's Urban League, TRUTH B TOLD News Service and CeaseFire, the university's fight for safer communities on the Southside of Chicago will be priority number one. The University of Chicago Medical Center, Dr. Whitaker and Quin Golden, associate vice president with U of C's UHI has made a three year commitment with hundreds of thousands of dollars dedicated for pre-crime prevention mechanisms. And to kick-start their objective, they're hosting multiple screenings of the critically acclaimed film, The Interrupters at various locations throughout Chicago. The university will select community groups to present this film to their core audiences, in an effort to build collaborative partners to disrupt this epidemic.
So on Monday, Feb. 27th, The Interrupters will be seen at Urban League's headquarters, 4510 S. Michigan Ave. Reception, 5:30 pm, with wordsmyth, street poet and Grammy award winner Malik Yusef, who has penned words for this special occasion. Another panelist inserted is Eric Wilkins, a young man who was a victim of gun violence and now is paralyzed from the waist down. He'll be on hand to discuss the impact violence has on families, friends and loved ones.
The film starts at 6 pm with a post Q&A discussion with individuals named above and moderated by Andrea Zopp, CUL's CEO. TBTNewsService.com has been retained as one of several coordinators for these series of screenings and promos designed to interrupt crime before it starts. Peace and one love.
No comments:
Post a Comment