Chicago Peace Initiative: Reducing violence with jobs

Gangs and prison often keep Chicago’s youth out of the workforce, but the Chicago Peace Initiative works to change that.

Jeffery Maxwell founded the Chicago Peace Initiative in 2021 to reduce violence by connecting at-risk residents with jobs, helping nearly 3,000 people reenter the workforce.

He said the work is only beginning.

“I was born in a real poverty-stricken, violent neighborhood. I grew up in the middle of Englewood. Most people will argue that the part of Englewood that I grew up in is probably the worst because that was where the Folk Nation was born, which is one of the biggest gangs in Chicago.”

“I went to Hirsch Metropolitan High School on the East Side of Chicago and then I ended up going to college at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. I got to my fourth year, but I was selling drugs at the time and got busted. I ended up doing close to four years of prison.”

Prison became a turning point rather than an ending. When Maxwell came home, he carried a different vision for his life.

“I came home and became a totally different man. I had a son that was born when I was in prison. I got a legitimate job and took care of my son. I got a job at a staffing agency because one of my friends from college gave me an opportunity. Then, I finished up my requirements at Chicago State University.”

“When I looked up, I was into outreach. By the time 2003 came around, I was doing Bible study and life skills in prison and street ministry work for DCFS with the kids with no mothers and no fathers. I was also helping out at the juvenile detention centers.”

As Maxwell rebuilt his life, his focus began to shift outward. What started as personal change slowly became a calling to serve others.

“Then in 2006, the Lord started talking to me about peace in the city and stopping the gang violence. It was like, Jeff, you come from one of the most poverty-stricken, gang-infested communities in the whole world. If you could survive, then there’s a blueprint.”

“So, I laid the groundwork for a nonprofit and built the Chicago Peace Initiative.”

Founded in 2021, the initiative wasn’t just about stopping violence – it was about giving young people a new identity. It is a partner organization to the Illinois Policy Institute’s Center for Poverty Solutions.

Together, the groups are helping community wisdom build a path to reducing poverty and improving human dignity in Chicago’s neighborhoods. They are part of how Chicago can reduce a nearly 17% poverty rate that is roughly 6 percentage points above the national average.

“The Chicago Peace Initiative helps address this gang problem by offering youth an alternative gang through what we call the Chi-Rusalem army. It’s a group of young men who were formerly gang members or were predicted to become gang members.”

The name is a play on Chi-Raq, which implies a city at war. Chi-Rusalem works for a city at peace.

“We draft them into the army, and we teach them life skills that they’re going to need, whether it’s help getting their GED, financial literacy training or connecting them with economic opportunities at a young age.”

“Then I started getting jobs for the ones that were 18 and up and that’s when we really started seeing changes.”

“I had the skill set already from working at the [staffing] agency so I just translated that over to getting contracts at warehouses. I got a few jobs and next thing I know, I’m getting all these jobs for people that were returning citizens.”

What he saw next surprised even him. People once defined by violence began redefining themselves through work.

“We started seeing the guys that were coming home from prison for murders, attempted murder, who had long histories of gang violence getting on this 15-person van to travel to the suburbs of Chicago for warehouse work. These guys fell in love with legitimize work.”

“Now we have guys come out of jail, they call my phone and the next day they’ll be working if he or she has a Social Security card and state ID. That means they are two weeks away from being in the position to put something towards a place to live.”

Even with success, challenges remain. Sustainability is now the next hurdle in growing Maxwell’s mission.

“At this point, we’re able to give 100 people jobs at a time but we still have to become self-sustainable and get contracts directly with these warehouses. I just haven’t got past that blue tape yet.”

“I’ve been connecting people with jobs for about the past 10 years, and I ended up starting the [Deborah Berry Staffing Agency] two years ago, which leads us up to now. I’ve placed people in at least 11 different warehouses, and we’re talking close to 3,000 people over that timeframe.”

“Just seeing where it’s gone from when I first started 10 years ago to now. Seeing the impact on the people that have their own apartments now, or their own houses or vehicles and are driving three or four other guys to these jobs, it’s a game changer.”

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