UX for Good – Chicago, IL (2011)

Carlo Garcia is an intriguing guy. In his words: “My name is Carlo and my mission is to give to charity every day for a year. This mission is built on a belief that you don’t have to be rich in dollars to make a difference, you only need to be rich in spirit. I [...]

“From my opinion the Cease Fire group did a really fabulous job identifying what ways the average person can help cub violence, what type of resources are needed to facilitate the great work Cease fire organization is currently doing and what other services the community needs to help address the problem long-term. I will definitely [...]

Continued brainstorming and discussion have produced a triad of desired actions for Ceasefire: “Educate, Communicate, and Finance.”  One potential pathway for achieving the triad is arming existing organizations with knowledge of Ceasefire to include in their own marketing messages. (Once again – the theme of communication/information design is dominating the brainstorm). Ceasefire’s continued community involvement [...]

Interrupters deal with a variety of circumstances when intervening with violence.  Currently, the knowledge of specific events resides almost exclusively amongst Interrupters, making transfer to the general public difficult. Real-time data gathering could help Interrupters better understand trends in community violence and record the efficacy of their responses.  A simple mobile or web application would [...]

Ceasefire founder Dr. Slutkin and Interrupter (counselors intervening with potential sources of violence) Lamont Evans defined several pathways for moving forward after discussing potential solutions to the challenge of enlisting members from outside of affected communities.  The pathways surround two distinct categories: communicating the Ceasefire message and creating programs to improve the efficiency of interrupters. [...]

Interest in creating programs like Ceasefire to halt urban violence regularly comes from other governments and organizations from across the globe.  The current staff of 20-30 individuals, however, struggles with the amount of labor and communication required to train, implement and execute a program similar to Ceasefire.  Founder Dr. Gary Slutkin believes the interest can [...]

CeaseFire Illinois – specifically, executive director Gary Slutkin – will work with our two teams designing new ways to reduce urban violence. Here’s a brief piece from WGN-TV on what CeaseFire is up to now. Ceasefire Illinois can be reached at @ceasefire_il