Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Delivers Remarks On Emergency Supplemental Victims Fund Expansion

5 months ago

On Thursday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson delivered remarks at an event on the emergency supplemental victims fund expansion.

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Transcript

00:00and usher gratitude into our heart. Welcome, Pastor Fred.

00:06Good morning. Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer. Father God, we thank you for this

00:11beautiful day that you have blessed us to be alive and alive and well. Thank you for great weather,

00:17but yet in our city, Lord, we know that good weather sometimes brings out bad behavior on

00:22our streets. We need your help. And so God, we come this morning and we lift up to you, our mayor,

00:27our elected officials, that you would give them the wisdom that they need to govern

00:32in a way that's pleasing to you and that's uplifting for the people of Chicago. We thank

00:38you for these great organizations who work relentlessly to change the lives and change

00:43the situations of people in our communities, strengthen them, give them the guidance that

00:48they need. And then finally, Lord, we ask you to bless, to move up and down our streets, to

00:53curb some of this violence, do the things that we cannot do. To us, it looks difficult, but to you,

00:59you can do all things. So give us the strength that we need to continue on and to press towards

01:05a better, safer Chicago. We give you praise in Jesus' name. Amen.

01:15Thank you, Pastor Fred. This morning, I want to invite you to use your imagination.

01:21Imagine having to tuck your kids in bed at night with bullet holes in your window

01:26because your home was a crime scene just hours earlier. Imagine being a working mom and having

01:32to choose between missing a day of pay to go plan your son's funeral, which you don't quite know how

01:39you're going to pay for that. Imagine being the breadwinner of the family, being shot two times

01:45by standing in your front yard while talking to family members, rendering you disabled to be

01:50unable to provide the basic needs for your family during your healing process.

01:57Today, many of us are using our imagination, but each of those scenarios are very real,

02:02shared with me by my victim advocate team members like Jackie Gordon. I am honored and grateful to

02:07Mayor Johnson and his administration for ensuring that organizations like YouCan across the city,

02:14we are able to show up and support victims of gun violence through the city's Emergency

02:19Supplemental Victims Fund to provide an array of services and support. When community violence

02:25strikes, it's usually random and no one is prepared for the consequences that follows.

02:31That is why the Emergency Supplemental Victims Funding is so critically important. We applaud

02:37the mayor and his administration for this commitment to help Chicagoans. YouCan, along

02:42with many of our community partners that are here today, we are responding in real time to

02:46survivors and their families. We are helping them alleviate the immediate financial impacts of fatal

02:53and non-fatal shooting incidents. Consistent with the fund's focus, we personally connect YouCan

03:00with people in North Lawndale community all the way throughout the Chicagoland area to the Roseland

03:06community. We take great pride in being there for people when they need us the most. Whether

03:11it's assisting them with food, medicine, transportation, paying for utilities, loss of

03:17wages, child care, mental health care, helping them select a funeral home, spiritual support,

03:25or relocation, these funds help us show up. YouCan's team is committed to providing the

03:32support to who need it, when they need it, and how they need it. As a part of our support,

03:38we offer a place of healing and solitude right behind me at Patria's Place Healing Garden. This

03:45is a tranquil space for us, for families, youth, that they can come and start the recovery process

03:51and heal. For those reasons and many more, we are so pleased to host today's press conference

03:58and hear more from the mayor about the expansion of these very critical funds.

04:03Now I'd like to introduce YouCan's Alderwoman, who is no stranger to our work and our impact.

04:09Just like YouCan, she shows up and fearlessly advocates for her constituents. She is a genuine

04:15servant leader. She is a partner and a supporter and one of my personal sheroes.

04:19Please welcome 24th Ward Alderwoman Monique Scott.

04:24Good morning. Good morning. And as always, it's always a pleasure to be in front of my community

04:31and to thank the mayor for this, for the services that this supplemental income will provide.

04:39No amount of money can bring back a child or can take the place of a losing a child,

04:47or can take the place of a losing a child. But it's a way of a gratitude to say,

04:54allow us to help, allow the city to help. And I haven't been in those shoes and it's something

05:01that I don't want. But I look into the audience and I see friends that have been impacted by gun

05:05violence just as recently as three months. And so where this is never easy, it's good to have

05:13support. YouCan and any other advocates here and the other victim support services do a great job

05:20with that support. And we want to continue. And I think that in a few minutes, we'll hear the

05:25mayor give us full detail of how this supplemental support can help. And to further ado, allow me to

05:34introduce our mayor, Brandon Johnson. Good morning. Thank you, Old Woman Scott, for your

05:45leadership. Of course, you know, I'm grateful that all of you have decided to join us today

05:52as we as a city expand the Emergency Supplemental Victims Fund.

05:58This fund is ultimately in position to provide relief and assistance to victims of gun violence.

06:05I'm grateful to be joined in this effort by our Deputy Mayor of Community Safety,

06:10Karen Gatewood, Chicago Department of Public Health, Deputy Commissioner Behavioral Health,

06:15Matt Richards, Community Safety Coordination Center Director Greg Martinez, and of course,

06:22the YouCan Executive Director, Hamilton, and members of the community, Kevin Edwards.

06:30Today is a step forward in our effort to achieve long-lasting peace and safety

06:36in all of our neighborhoods throughout the city of Chicago. Most of all, today is a demonstration

06:42of our commitment to investing in people, and of course, providing the support that they need.

06:47The Emergency Supplemental Victims Fund, or the ESVF, was launched in 2022 as a pilot program

06:55initially operating in five community areas. With the help of community-based victim services

07:01organizations who administer the program, who have designated these particular community areas

07:08for survivors and families and victims, we now are in a position to provide $1,500 for funeral

07:15and burial expenses, $1,000 for basic needs and expenses incurred by

07:21a loss or incident of violence, such as medical expenses, mental health care, child care, groceries,

07:27rent, or $1,000 for relocation expenses if a survivor needs a safe move out of their household.

07:37In a time of great loss and trauma, these funds provide much-needed relief and stability

07:41for residents and families. By lifting some of the burdens of victims and survivors,

07:47lifting some of those burdens off their shoulders, we can help them on their path

07:52and journey to full healing. And ultimately, they can be strengthened by those funds,

07:57helping us to prevent repeat incidences of violence, and ultimately, these funds are

08:02in position to contribute to safer communities. In a few months,

08:07we're confident that the work and the investment that we are doing,

08:10we will see better and stronger results. You're going to hear from Kevin Edwards,

08:14a recipient of ESVF, the program, who will share more about the impact this program has had on his

08:20life. And so far, ESVF, this program has provided relief and assistance to over 200 victims and

08:27survivors. But there are so many more who are in need, so many more that are in need of our support,

08:32and that's why we're making this strong commitment today. There's certainly more that we can do.

08:38So today, we are proud to announce an expansion of the ESVF program, from five community areas

08:45to 15 community areas. These 15 community areas, thank you.

08:50These 15 community areas in our city are experiencing high rates of violence, and therefore,

08:57they need the type of stabilizing resources that we can bring as a city.

09:01Community-based victim advocates and victim service organizations like UCANN, UCANN Chicago,

09:09who are hosting us today, are going to be providing the resources that we need to

09:15like UCANN, UCANN Chicago, who are hosting us today, will continue to administer this program,

09:23and they'll do it in the priority communities that we will lay out. The city will dedicate

09:27roughly 10 million dollars to this expansion over the next three years. This is part of our large

09:34and our larger commitment to invest in the people in neighborhoods who are the most adversely

09:38affected by community violence. And through the people's plan of community safety,

09:43we are bringing our entire city together, our entire city together to share the responsibility

09:49of creating safety and maximizing the impact that our efforts can ultimately be used to prevent

09:56and reduce violence. Only by working together and listening to one another and empowering one

10:01another can we achieve our vision for a better, stronger, and safer Chicago. The closing,

10:08collaboration that is on display today, it's evidence of the commitment that I have

10:14to community-based organizations who are managing this program. It's also a commitment

10:20to prioritizing communities that have been starved for decades. You know, the future of our city is

10:26bright. I'm still confident in that. And though my heart grieves, and as we grieve as a city,

10:33the senseless violence that has traumatized families. When a 13-year-old boy is a target,

10:38there's something sick and demented about the mentality of people who are walking through

10:42the streets of Chicago. When a seven-year-old is stepping just outside their home and is gunned down,

10:51it's an indication of the failures of previous administrations

10:55who have been intentional about leaving our communities behind. These same communities

10:59that are experiencing violence, of the communities in which pensions were raided,

11:03and taking dollars away from workers and putting them in the hand of developers

11:07who don't reflect the interests of our communities. These are the same communities

11:11whose schools have been closed, public housing has been shuttered. These are the same communities

11:17in which gross disinvestment has been the prevailing form of politics in this city for

11:21decades. And that is why, that is why we are working hard to bring people together to respond

11:27to this crisis. This crisis did not show up with simply a bullet. This crisis showed up when

11:33previous administrations decided to give up on these communities, and they have demonstrated

11:38and have shown disdain for our people. And so now we are struggling with the aftermath of the

11:44failures of previous administrations who did not recognize the value of our lives. But that day

11:49changes, and those who continue to cause trauma in our city, we will hold you accountable.

11:55But those who recognize that a better, stronger, safer Chicago is achieved through investments and

12:00working together, those are the people that will work together to ensure that families don't have

12:05to rely upon these services. And that the investments that we do make are investments

12:10in their housing, mental health, jobs, public transportation and public education. That is

12:14the work of the people. God bless you all. God bless the greatest city in the world,

12:19the city of Chicago. And with that, I bring to the podium,

12:23our Deputy Mayor of Community Safety, Deputy Mayor Gary Gigwood.

12:32Good morning. Good morning.

12:35Thank you, Mayor Johnson, and thanks to everybody who's out here for joining us today.

12:39As the Mayor mentioned, the People's Plan for Community Safety, we are working to build a

12:43safer Chicago for everyone through purposeful, intentional investments to interrupt and

12:48address acute violence while also eradicating the root causes of harm. I want to pause there

12:53for a second because this is about both and. We can both invest in people and hold folks

12:57accountable, and that is the crux of our work. The plan focuses on those most impacted by violence

13:03through a two-pronged approach, people-based and place-based. In March, we announced the

13:08place-based side of the strategy by sharing four community areas with the 10 Census Block Group

13:13areas of focus. When I say people, I mean interrupting violence and protecting victims

13:18and survivors, as well as young people and adults of highest promise, members of our

13:23communities who've been impacted by repeated cycles of harm. Today, the expansion of the

13:30Emergency Supplemental Victims Fund is a part of our continued commitment to support our victims

13:34and survivors throughout the entire city by offering high-quality, immediate support to

13:39help address the intersectional layers of trauma impacting those who have been harmed and those

13:44who have caused harm. We've heard all of the phrases before, hurt people, hurt people, and most of us

13:50have also heard the corresponding phrase, heal people, heal people. Only by acknowledging and

13:56disrupting cycles of harm can we truly begin to heal people and create safe communities. That's

14:02why I'm pleased to lift up yet another investment from the Mayor and the Mayor's Office of Community

14:06Safety and the Chicago Department of Public Health to disrupt these cycles. A $3 million

14:12request for proposal will be released later this week, lifting up hospital-based violence prevention

14:18because it's not only our victim services work, it's what we're also doing for hospitals. It's how

14:22we wrap our arms around and support people in communities who've been victims of

14:27carnage and crime for far too long. We have to wrap our arms around community members. We have to

14:32wrap our arms around folks who've been victims and survivors. This hospital-based work is yet

14:36another step of the city moving in a direction that we've never done before. We've never invested in

14:41hospital-based violence prevention, and this Mayor is leading us in that direction to do that.

14:45We're excited about what's happening there. We're excited about the opportunities to invest in people.

14:50I encourage all organizations who are interested to help in that work, be on the lookout for the

14:55RFP that will come and the grant opportunities on their website. This investment also emphasizes

15:01what my colleagues from CDPH know too well. Violence is a public health crisis, and we must

15:07treat it accordingly. That means we need everybody to work together. That means if you have an opinion,

15:12we want you to come in with that opinion and help us solve these problems that we see throughout our

15:17city. As the Mayor mentioned, there's not a day in the city that a seven-year-old should lose their

15:22life to senseless violence. That shouldn't happen. We have to hold folks accountable. We have to work

15:27with our partners at the Chicago Police Department, our partners on the ground, and our community

15:32members to help keep people safe. That's the only thing we're focused on, safety. We need to have

15:37sustainable safety, and that can only be achieved by addressing root causes and also addressing

15:43the issues that we see in real time here. I'm excited about the possibilities that we see ahead

15:48as we continue to invest in people and the places that need us the most, and we work together with

15:53our partners. With that, I'd like to turn it over to one of those partners, Matt Richards,

15:57the Deputy Commissioner of Behavioral Health of Chicago Department of Public Health. Matt.

16:05Good morning. Good morning. Mayor, thank you for your leadership. Ms. Hamilton, thank you for

16:10hosting us. I'm Matt Richards. I'm the Deputy Commissioner for Behavioral Health at the Chicago

16:14Department of Public Health. The ESVF, the Emergency Supplemental Victims Fund, is part of CDPH's

16:21overall public health response to the problem of gun violence. In public health, we focus on

16:27prevention. It's prevention, prevention, prevention. Gun violence is one of the leading causes of

16:31preventable death and injury in the United States. It's one of the five primary drivers

16:36of the racial life expectancy gap in Chicago between Black and non-Black Chicagoans. Gun

16:42violence not only directly harms victims, but it sets in place a cascade of negative outcomes for

16:48communities, for family members, for loved ones, for community members. We know that when gun

16:53violence occurs, it affects a child's ability to learn in the community. It increases toxic stress

16:59levels that causes dysregulated stress response, increases risk of cardiovascular disease,

17:05hypertension, increases risk of generalized anxiety disorder. This is why the Department

17:11of Public Health is so focused on prevention. We fund a wide range of evidence-based strategies

17:18through the Mayor's People's Plan for Public Safety that includes community violence intervention

17:22like the services offered here at UCAN, increasing access to substance use disorder treatment,

17:28addressing vacant lots, and improving and creating safe spaces for community members.

17:34At CDPH, we recognize that safety is a basic precondition of human wellness and flourishing.

17:41When we invest in prevention through public education, affordable housing, neighborhood

17:46economic development, we are investing in healthier and longer lives for our people.

17:52This fund is a form of intervention that tries to support families and victims in a moment of

17:57tremendous need. It communicates our city's support and recognition that you are not alone.

18:04When a victim or family experiences the trauma of gun violence, they are dealing with the trauma

18:09and grief that is hard to put to words, and then they have to navigate systems at the same time

18:15to try to get the support that they need. We must support them however we can to help alleviate

18:21these negative impacts so they can grieve and they can work towards emotional healing and wellness.

18:26As the Mayor said, since this pilot launched, we have distributed almost a million dollars

18:31to hundreds of individuals to support the funeral, basic needs, and relocation expenses after they

18:37were affected by this strategy. I'm grateful to Mayor Johnson, I'm grateful to Deputy Mayor

18:42Gatewood, and this administration for supporting the scaling of this important initiative as part

18:47of a holistic plan to increase safety and promote healing in our communities. We are pleased to be

18:52able to expand this program, as the Mayor said, to 10 more neighborhoods and also city-wide for

18:57victims 24 and under. I also want to particularly thank Stephanie Harris, who's been a relentless

19:03advocate for this program. Stephanie's back there. And to the staff of the Community Safety

19:10Coordination Center, who have made this important initiative happen. And with that, I'd like to

19:14introduce my colleague Greg Martinez, who leads the Community Safety Coordination Center. Thanks, Greg.

19:22Hello everybody, my name is Greg Martinez. I'm going to be providing the Spanish remarks here

19:27for folks. So first off, buenos dias. Mi nombre es Gregorio Martinez con el Departamento de Salud

19:34Público de Chicago. Soy el director del Centro de Coordinación de Seguridad Comunitaria.

19:39Es un placer estar aquí esta mañana en la expansión del Emergency Supplemental Victims Fund.

19:44En excepciones del 2022, hemos aprobado cerca de 400 aplicaciones que representan casi 900 dólares

19:52distribuidos a víctimas y sus familias. La expansión de Emergency Supplemental Victims Fund incluye un

19:59total de 15 comunidades. Adicionalmente, familias de jóvenes de 24 años o menores han sido víctimas

20:07de homicidio en cualquier comunidad de la ciudad también serán elegibles para estos recursos.

20:12Solicitantes elegibles para este programa pueden obtener ayuda financiera para necesidades básicas

20:18y gastos de reubicación. Familias de víctimas de homicidio también pueden solicitar ayuda con

20:24gastos funerarios. Muchos individuos y familias son impactados por violencia. Si usted o uno de

20:30sus seres queridos son afectados por violencia, existen servicios de apoyo disponibles hoy.

20:36Les tendemos una invitación para que visiten chicago.gov slash ESVF para conectarse con esos

20:43recursos hoy. Y con eso, es mi honor de presentar a Kevin Edwards. So with this, I want to pass

20:50it on over to one of the recipients of ESVF, Mr. Kevin Edwards.

20:59Morning, my name is Kevin Edwards. The program ESVF helped me. I was a victim of gun violence last year

21:07of June and I didn't know anything about it. And when I was in the hospital, IMVC,

21:13Institution of Nonviolence, they told me about the program and the program helped me. It was a

21:18helpful resource. I needed it. I couldn't walk, couldn't do nothing for like three, four months.

21:23And the program is beneficial and I believe in it and I'm glad that the mayor and everybody is

21:29behind it and I'm 100% with it and I approve it. Thank you again, you all for being here. Thank

21:41you, Kevin, for your bravery. And like Kevin and many other families, of course, we grieve

21:48you all for our condolences, but we also know that we have to put in work, put in the work to

21:53prevent this type of violence from becoming normalized in our communities because it is

21:59not normal. With that, we'll take a few questions. We'll do one question each and a follow-up.

22:07Mr. Mayor, your colleague from CDPH talked about the importance of prevention

22:12and intervention. On a daily basis, what does that look like on the streets of Chicago

22:18and is it working? Well, it's a collaborative approach. We'll just start there. As we've

22:22indicated, our public safety plan is people-driven and it's based upon places. So one of the first

22:29things we had to do was identify where the neglect has been because where the neglect has been is

22:34where violence has been most pervasive. And so not only are we showing up with resources,

22:40those resources are the embodiment of what I call full force of government. It's not just simply a

22:46police strategy, but it's also things as simple as cleaning up vacant lots, abandoned homes that

22:52have been places where violence can breed, right? But it's also making sure that we're building

23:00homes. We're doing that right here in North Lawndale, working with the Alderwoman. There

23:04are vacant lots that have caused some of the disruption that we're going to build affordable

23:10homes on so families can return. You understand what I'm saying? This is a comprehensive,

23:16full force of government. It's not just about having police officers surveil neighborhoods.

23:22It's about making sure that we are surrounding neighborhoods with love. And the best way you

23:25demonstrate love is to invest in people. Isn't it something when you love something you spend

23:29money on it? Trust me, ask my wife of 25 years, I really love her. Thank you. Mayor Johnson, I think

23:39we're curious about whether this was budgeted for where's the money coming from for this?

23:45Well, look, we said from the very beginning of this budget, as you may recall,

23:53we put forth $100 million towards violence prevention. Now, you know, we're very fortunate

24:00that we have Office of Budget Management that, you know, recognizes the importance of

24:06exercising my vision. And so these dollars are, you know, dollars that,

24:12you know, we have made available through this particular year's budget. But quite frankly,

24:16as I said, $10 million over the course of three years. It's not a secret that previous

24:22administrations have been quite stingy with investing in our people. Don't you hate stingy

24:27people? They're just bothersome. It's just they never want to share anything. And so these are

24:33tax dollars that are ultimately being reinvested in our communities. And I think to the previous

24:37question about whether it's working or not, look, there's a lot of work to be done here.

24:41Now, we should not just gloss past the fact that homicides are down in Chicago, by the way.

24:48Homicides are down. Shootings are down in Chicago.

24:54And when you look at the most violent beats, homicides and shootings are down higher than

24:59what they are citywide. So the investments will continue to come from, you know, the will of the

25:05people. And we're going to continue to work hard to make sure that safety becomes not just a wish,

25:11but it becomes a reality. Mayor Johnson, can you talk more about the specific results you've seen

25:17from the pilot program and how you're able to measure the correlation or whether that has led

25:23to a correlation in safer communities in those five? Yeah, that's a good question. So this goes

25:27back to our most violent beats, but our Deputy Mayor Gary Gatewood speaks specifically to that.

25:35Thank you for the question. I think one big way to even show the measures of success is you heard

25:39from Kevin earlier, investment in him when he was at a down point in his life, because something

25:44that is very unique to the work that we are in and safety, you see people on the worst day of

25:49their lives, right when they are facing an immense amount of tragedy. So the fact that we were able

25:54to help provide resources to him and his family and so many other families around the city in

25:59their worst moments and not only in collaboration with our partners at the city, the victim services

26:04folks that you see around us, surrounding us here at UCAN and the partners throughout the city

26:09who really show up for folks on their worst day and continue to show up for them. So we've seen

26:13not only again, the mayor mentioned the decrease in homicides and the decrease in shootings,

26:17but you've also seen an increase in wraparound support. So we will continue to work at this.

26:22Obviously there's a lot of work to be done because there's still violence permeating through

26:25our city. So not only do we need to continue those investments, but we also have to layer that with

26:31that accountability. So we'll continue to build on this and we'll continue to move towards that

26:35success that we want to see. Good morning mayor. Good morning. Today we're hearing a lot of

26:46frustration from you about the violence. Tuesday night after the seven-year-old was shot, we heard

26:51frustration from you about the violence and rightfully so. But why did it take so long?

26:57Monday morning we heard nothing from you after 70 people were shot over the weekend and we heard

27:03nothing from you on Monday. Why did it take so long? My frustration is not brand new.

27:11People have been hearing from me and voices across this city for decades.

27:16This is not a new expression of frustration. Look, what people have heard from me,

27:24they've heard my actions. You know my mother used to always say that your actions speak

27:29louder than your words. It's 100 million dollars for violence prevention actions. A 1.25 billion

27:36dollar bond to create economic opportunities and affordable housing for people. It's action.

27:41Action. Having a people place, person place,

27:48community safety plan where we're showing up and block some of the most disinvested,

27:53violent blocks in the city of Chicago. Showing up on the ground. It's action.

27:58People of Chicago want action. We've been hearing words from a minister.

28:03So we invest in people. The people deserve more than just words.

28:08They deserve support and our love. That's what you have in this mayor. Now if you want a mayor

28:13to give you speeches and messages on Monday mornings, we've had enough of that.

28:20We have community-based organizations, the business community, federal government,

28:24state government, all of us working together to show up for people

28:29because our actions have to be louder than our words.

28:32So pay attention to the action, not just the words.

28:43Hi again mayor. I wanted to ask about the new Sterling Bay proposal in Lincoln Park,

28:48which the local alderman objects to. Why is this worth pursuing your first standoff over

28:53aldermanic prerogative and does this signal that you are going to challenge the long-standing

28:58city council tradition more going forward? What my administration is committed to doing

29:04is to bringing real economic development across the city. Now again, the anti-business,

29:13quite frankly the anti-black and brown policies that have caused so much harm in this city,

29:17that day is over. You know it's why we're working hard to bring real economic development to people.

29:23Now what I've committed myself to doing, and I've demonstrated this, is that we work with people.

29:30I need people to calm down and relax. Just relax. We're having conversations

29:37because that's how you build a better, stronger, safer Chicago. So this is not, you know, some

29:42contentious fake spat or riff between my presentation and others. This is about having a

29:49real conversation about how we have the vibrancy in this city so that we can recover. So the

29:56conversations are ongoing and look, there are people who may not have fully embraced our vision

30:06for a better, stronger, safer Chicago. We're going to continue to organize people so that they

30:10understand the full value of what it means to invest in all of our communities. I bring that

30:15up because the alderman, Scott Wagespack, says if it passes the plan commission today, he is going

30:20to try to oppose it in the zoning committee. And I just wanted to ask, are you prepared to

30:25have this stakeout over alderman and prerogative, which a mayor has not successfully overcome since

30:302022? That's an interesting stat. Since 2022, huh? All right, well stay tuned everybody.

30:38Good morning, Mr. Mayor. Good morning. I'd like to ask, well, I want to go back to understanding, and I think people understand that the kind of investments that are being made

30:56are being done and that it's going to take time, but you still hear frustration from people every day

31:03when something like, when children are killed. Yeah. Are there any changes that you want to see

31:10on what's happening on the ground with the policing part of this that need to be made

31:16so that those guns are not as prevalent and that so many drive-bys and such aren't happening? No,

31:25look, that's a great question. Okay, I've been in regular conversation with our superintendent,

31:30and one of the things that I've said from the very beginning, and to your point

31:33about the frustration, that we have to be flexible on the ground to have some nimbleness. This is why

31:38when I talk about the full force of government on display and why it's important that our partners,

31:43Chicago Department of Public Health, are part of this strategy as well, is that when you have the

31:48type of, let me just clarify something I mentioned earlier about how you have sick and unwell people,

31:55unhealthy people, who are traumatized, and they are spreading that trauma throughout the

32:03community through very severe acts of violence. I said that to acknowledge the fact that we need

32:08more behavioral mental health support services. It's why I'm reopening the mental health clinic

32:14in Roseland. It's why we're providing mental health services at Legler Library. It's why

32:18on the lower west side, Little Village Pilsen Clinic, we're providing behavioral health services.

32:23And why is that important? It's because police officers have been behaving as social workers,

32:29marriage counselors, therapists, psychiatrists. It's not their job. And so part of the strategy

32:36that we are constantly moving is a healthy balance between where the presence of police

32:44is beneficial, where we're also layering the behavioral mental health support services,

32:49along with youth employment, along with giving people raises, along with expanding the support

32:54that parks have. Look, that is as immediate as you can get, because there are 28,000 young people

33:02that have an opportunity to work this summer. Ask those individuals how immediate our investments

33:07are. I can tell you what, my son has a job, and I had nothing to do with him getting that job

33:11before anybody decides to investigate it. You know what I'm saying? He got it on his own merit.

33:17He didn't even put on it. He's embarrassed to be with me in public, so he's not going to put me on

33:21a job application. But there are 28,000 young people that have jobs. And so I hope you all

33:27are following this. It's the police presence, particularly strategically be in place where

33:32these spots have gotten hotter, but it's also about making sure that CDPH is on the ground,

33:38but also making sure that our community-based organizations can hire young people. Look,

33:43you all, and I mean this with all due humility, let's just be honest, you have not seen this

33:48level of creativity and collaboration in the city of Chicago since the last 40 years.

33:54I'll amen to that myself. Faith, labor. Look, we have so many people working at this. There

34:01are people who signed up to work for this city 20 years ago and did not know that they were part of

34:05the community safety plan. Parks, community safety. Chicago Public Schools, community safety.

34:12CTA, community safety. Street and sanitation, community safety. Buildings, community safety.

34:17UCAN, community safety. Every single church in this city has to be part of the community safety

34:23plan. And so this is very strategic on the ground. And quite frankly, look, that frustration that

34:28you're hearing from me, it has more to do with the fact that here we are working overtime every

34:34single day to respond to a crisis that we did not create. Can I say that one more time?

34:42Because black and brown folks have been seen as victims for so long, the very crisis that

34:48we are experiencing, the very people who live in these communities did not create the crisis.

34:53And so now we are responsible to clean up somebody else's mess while also making critical

34:58investments for the future of this city. That's why I need 23 more years. That's why I need it.

35:04This is going to take some time for us to get there. And one quick follow up, and this may

35:09splash over into Matt's Matt's department, but to put an emphasis on hospital based prevention,

35:16I think people are used to hearing that hospitals cure the violence or cure the wounds. But what do

35:24we mean when we say hospital based prevention? Yeah, that's a very good question. And I have

35:29a follow up. Come on, come on. Thank you. So historically, the city has funded community

35:37based violence prevention. But one of the things that the mayor was very clear about with us was

35:43this holistic approach, where we're engaging people impacted by violence all across the ecosystem. And

35:49so the city has never funded intervention that happens in hospitals, even though it is an

35:54evidence based strategy. And so it was a gap historically, in our approach. And so we're

36:00closing that gap with the $3 million investment that the mayor described. So when a person comes

36:05in, having experienced a violent injury, they work with credible messengers who engage the

36:10victim and their family to decrease risk of retaliatory violence, and then transition them

36:15into community to get wraparound supports. No, look, that's exactly right. I don't know

36:20if people and I thank you for asking that question. The amount of intervention that happens

36:27at the hospital. Look, I've always said I'm gonna be transparent and truthful and direct.

36:33When people experience violence,

36:37it is hard for them not to get into a retaliatory mode. People want vengeance

36:46is real. And we have trained specialists that are working to not only help them heal,

36:53but to help them forgive. That's that's that's powerful work that these individuals are doing.

36:59And that's why I'm investing in this. Because look, this is not just simply about safer

37:04communities. This is about communities that experience healing and justice.

37:10Look, if you don't take anything else away from this conversation, this press conference,

37:14know that what you are seeing is a full display of love. Because in love, you can course correct,

37:20you can hold people accountable. Make sure accountability, but let's also make sure there

37:25are opportunities. Let's say that one more game and get my Reverend Jesse Jackson on.

37:30We want to create make sure that there is accountability and opportunity.

37:36Thank you, Reverend Jackson. Thank you all. God bless you.

37:55Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Delivers Remarks On Emergency Supplemental Victims Fund Expansion

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