海角大神

On a Monday morning in mid-June, Curtis Toler receives intel about an assassination plot. It鈥檚 a tip that a street gang plans to shoot an eighth grader at his graduation ceremony in Chicago鈥檚 Roseland neighborhood.聽

Mr. Toler, the director of outreach at Chicago CRED, a nonprofit whose mission is to reduce gun violence, immediately calls several colleagues. Mondays are usually a day off for his crew. It鈥檚 the weekends that they鈥檙e busiest 鈥� especially in summertime. That鈥檚 when gang-related shootings undergo a seasonal spike.聽

Sitting in a Chicago CRED office space, Mr. Toler holds up his phone to show what his email inbox looks like.

鈥淵ou see this?鈥� he says. 鈥淭his is throughout the city. Person shot. Person shot. Person shot. Person shot. Person shot. Deceased. This is daily.鈥� 聽

As of late September, 2,652 people have been shot in Chicago this year 鈥� 457 fatally, according to the city鈥檚 official count.

Mr. Toler oversees young men and women who have relationships with the gangs that Chicago CRED is trying to wean from violence. Its ambitious goal is to reduce gun violence by 20% each year. They endeavor to identify not only who鈥檚 most at risk of getting shot, but also who is most likely to pull the trigger. Mr. Toler used to be in the latter category. He was once a leader of one of Chicago鈥檚 most feared street gangs. Now he risks his own life to persuade others to come over to the side of peace.聽

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

Curtis Toler, a former gang leader, talks about his work with Chicago CRED, on June 13, in Chicago.

鈥淭his is part of his atonement, if you will, for his past,鈥� says the Rev. Michael Pfleger, founder of Chicago鈥檚 basketball peace league in which rival gang members play each other on courts. 鈥淭o be able to identify with them and to care about them, you can鈥檛 come in [with] a dictating-like way, or a condemning way, or a judgment way. You got to come in meeting them where they鈥檙e at and help to move them to another place of peace.鈥�

鈥淵ou have to work on the shooters.鈥�

Mr. Toler keeps an eye on his phone for updates from the graduation ceremony. His resting expression is serious and studious. Yet he鈥檚 quick to laugh and crack jokes. Today, Mr. Toler is wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with the word 鈥減ray鈥� in rainbow letters. A devout Muslim, he wholeheartedly believes that prayer works. But, he adds, prayer without work is dead.聽

When Chicago CRED launched in 2016, Mr. Toler was one of its first employees. (The acronym stands for Create Real Economic Destiny.) Former U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan co-founded the nonprofit following an epiphany: 鈥淚f you want to stop shooting, you have to work on the shooters.鈥�

How? Provide them with other alternatives to crime. It starts with one-on-one recruitment.聽

Once individuals sign onto the CRED program, they receive a stipend. The support system also includes trauma therapists, life coaches, and job coaches. Chicago CRED participants spend at least a year in the program before they鈥檙e connected with potential employers in construction, culinary services, manufacturing, and law firms.聽

When Wesley Addison enrolled in CRED, it helped him get his high school diploma.聽

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

Wesley Addison, a participant in the CRED program, chats about his life. Like most participants in the program, he had a difficult childhood and has had run-ins with the police. He is a father to three children.

鈥淚 want to influence my kids to get their high school diploma,鈥� says Mr. Addison, who鈥檚 in his mid-20s and had been incarcerated until fairly recently. 鈥淚 want my children to own businesses. And not make the same mistakes I made or take the same road I took.鈥�

As Mr. Addison attests, CRED鈥檚 life coaches will pick up the phone whether it鈥檚 11 in the morning or 11 at night.聽

鈥淚鈥檓 not used to someone really caring,鈥� says Mr. Addison, who describes a 180 degree change since enrolling in CRED. 鈥淐razy as it sounds, I was breathing better.鈥�

The other major component of CRED鈥檚 work is peacekeeping. Like trying to prevent a massacre at a graduation ceremony.

Learning to love

The first time Mr. Toler got shot, he was 12 years old. He鈥檚 been shot on four other occasions.聽

Asked what it鈥檚 like to be shot, Mr. Toler responds, 鈥淥ther than it hurts?鈥� He erupts in a belly-deep laugh that rolls for several seconds. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how I think that I鈥檓 able to relate to some of the young men and women who go through it.鈥�

He also knows firsthand the reasons why so many youths join gangs. (CRED prefers to call them 鈥渟treet organizations.鈥�) As the oldest sibling born to a single mother, Mr. Toler yearned for connection. When Mr. Toler was 17, his abusive stepfather murdered his mother. Rage consumed Mr. Toler. His propensity for unpredictable outbursts of violence propelled him to a top leadership position in his gang.聽

But Mr. Toler, who鈥檇 served two stints in prison, realized that if he continued with gang life, he would either be killed or be incarcerated at length. He wanted to be a role model for his young son. So he extricated himself and resisted alluring temptations to return.聽

鈥淥nce you feel love, then you have the ability to love others,鈥� he says. 鈥淥nce being a father and a husband took the place of, and felt a lot better than, being a gang leader, it was an easy transition, right? You know, because you have to replace something with something else.鈥�

Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff

The tattoos on Mr. Addison鈥檚 hands say 鈥淗onour鈥� and 鈥淩espect.鈥�

Mr. Toler says that his gang persona was his 鈥渋mposter,鈥� not his true self. That鈥檚 helped him develop a technique for dealing with formidable gang members on the streets. He imagines what they might have been like when they were 5 years old 鈥� the age of his own grandson.聽

鈥淚f we could see the child in everyone, then it becomes a lot easier to work with them,鈥� says Mr. Toler. 鈥淏ecause I鈥檓 not seeing this hard guy with tattoos all over his face, even though I鈥檓 working from a nonjudgmental zone. But I鈥檓 seeing this young, fragile human being. ... Whatever circumstances or conditions cause them to be the way that they are now, they weren鈥檛 always like that. And if they weren鈥檛 always like that, then there鈥檚 a great possibility of them changing.鈥�

Mr. Duncan, CRED鈥檚 co-founder, says that one of Mr. Toler鈥檚 best qualities is that he鈥檚 very humble; he鈥檚 able to build relationships on the street by truly listening to people.

Welcoming every win 鈥� however small

At midday, Mr. Toler鈥檚 phone rings with an update from the graduation ceremony. The outreach team, stationed at the school, had been in communication with four different groups in a bid to avert violence. The ceremony had been completely peaceful.

鈥淲e got to get the wins where we can take them,鈥� Mr. Toler cheerfully tells his associate.

Within seconds of hanging up, Mr. Toler鈥檚 phone rings again. His expression sags. A few minutes ago, there鈥檇 been a shooting at a different school graduation in another neighborhood. The victim is in critical condition.

Later, when asked about the overall trend in the city鈥檚 homicides, Mr. Toler responds, 鈥淚鈥檓 very optimistic because as bad as it is, it is not as bad as it was in the last two years.鈥�

Gun violence in Chicago, while still very high, is down in 2022. In mid-June, Chicago CRED celebrated a peace treaty between two deadly gangs.聽

鈥淚 really believe we鈥檙e going in the right direction,鈥� says Mr. Toler. 鈥淚鈥檓 also a praying man, right? So, yeah, I just really stay hopeful. Because if we don鈥檛 have any hope, then what鈥檚 the use of doing the work?鈥�