Identifying the Effects of Changing Social Ties on Perceived Safety Among High-Risk Male Participants in a Community Violence Intervention Program

Background/Purpose: Cities across the nation have seen increased calls for Community Violence Interventions (CVI) that center local expertise while avoiding the harsh consequences of the criminal legal system. This study describes the experiences of participants in one such program in Chicago, IL: Chicago CRED. CRED reaches individuals at acute risk for gun violence involvement and recruits them into a phased program spanning 12-18 months that includes counseling, mentoring, educational assistance, and job training. While street outreach is a long-standing violence intervention strategy, the experiences of participants in modern CVI iterations are under-researched because few programs have been able to retain participants over long periods of time. Using data from longitudinal interviews, this study analyzes how CRED participants’ social ties changed over time and describes how those relationships impacted the participants’ perceived safety.

Methods: In collaboration with CRED staff, Corners’ researchers identified a cohort of participants (n = 22) to interview and observe longitudinally. A total of 44 interviews were conducted over three waves. Data collection occurred over approximately 22 months—a period that includes the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. Corners employed a flexible coding approach followed by several rounds of thematic analysis. Given the study’s longitudinal nature, the researchers then constructed journey maps—infographics which concisely summarize the trajectories of participants’ relationships and perceived safety over time—to help analyze the interplay between social ties and safety.

Results: As they progressed through the program, study participants reported deepening levels of trust in CRED staff. High levels of trust were associated with increased access to social capital and adherence to safety-promoting behaviors and attitudes. Several participants reported improved relationships with their loved ones and stronger motivation to succeed as parents. These family and friend networks were essential support systems for participants to model a safer lifestyle. Many participants’ gang/group ties remained central to their identities throughout the study, despite their decisions to avoid people and gatherings with which they felt it was too dangerous to associate.

Conclusions & Implications: Results from this study demonstrate how engagement with Chicago CRED’s violence intervention model positively impacted participants’ social ties in ways that promoted the adoption of safer lifestyles. Additionally, participants’ improved sense of safety often fed back into their relationships in ways that reinforced pro-social ties. Program involvement offered participants an alternative to “network avoidance”, a documented strategy of self-isolation in response to the elevated risk of violence.