Forum discusses solutions to violence

Every year, more young people are killed in the city of Chicago than any other city in the country.Because of this, communities are discussing ways to end youth violence.
The Area P District 6450 Rotary Clubs, in conjunction with GSU students, sponsored the event, "Overcoming Violence, Creating an Era of Peace." This event took place April 25th in Sherman Hall. There were several presentations such as "A Viewpoint from Our Youth," "What You Should Know About Gangs in Your Community," and "Strategic & Holistic Strategies to End Youth Violence," to name a few. There was also a feature performance by Lyric. Cook County State Attorney, Anita Alvarez, was the keynote speaker for the day.
In her speech, Alvarez discussed the impact of restorative justice and its importance it has in schools, as well as in communities. Restorative justice is an effective approach that involves the victim, the offender, and the affected community members. Restorative justice helps dealing with crime or inappropriate behavior by helping to identify and address issues, so there can be a solution and healing, for both, victim and offender. According to Alvarez, Restorative justice has been an effective strategy in schools because it helps young people, instead of negatively impacting them for the rest of their lives.
Another technique that has been beneficial and essential to reducing violence is peacemaking circles. In this process, people are brought together to better understand each another to build and strengthen relationships and community, along with solving problems in a safe and productive manner.
Besides discussing current successful strategies to decrease adolescent violent behavior, Alvarez stressed the importance of having an education. This was specifically addressed mostly to a crowd of 6th graders in the audience. Alvarez said, "Education is the key to success, it takes you places."
In addition, she expressed that it is of great importance to make the right choices. Choices have a great impact on ones future. Therefore, making good decisions helps people to have courage to persist towards their goals. Several times throughout her speech, Alvarez pointed to some of her personal experiences such as being the first Latina to have the title of State Attorney. She spoke about the challenges she faced being both a woman and a Latina in her candidacy for her present position. Many of the people in the audience seemed to be impressed with her story; she was a source of inspiration for some of them