UCAN Kicks Off Ambassadors of Peace Program for Chicago Youth

Right before the July 4 weekend, nearly 200 UCAN youth, age 16 to 25, took a pledge to be ambassadors of peace, and to help be the solution to gun violence in their Chicago communities. 

The Ambassadors of Peace program is part of UCAN’s ongoing efforts to work with underserved youth. UCAN hosted the pledge in response to the typical increase in violence that occurs over holiday weekends.

UCAN youth members, many of whom have been scarred by the trauma of gun violence, said they want to change the narrative of gun violence. Some told ABC7 Eyewitness News in Chicago that they became ambassadors in honor of a loved one lost to gun violence. 

“My boyfriend, he died in February,” UCAN peacekeeper Kayla Medina told reporter Jasmin Minor. “It just really pushed me to keep going hard.”

The event was held at Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church on Chicago’s South Side. Making the pledge “gave me like relief, because it just shows me that even though he’s not here, I’m still living for him,” Medina added.

UCAN’s work with youth includes providing them with employment readiness training and a chance to participate in job shadowing with more than 50 employer-partners. 

“I’ve been homeless about three, four months before coming to UCAN,” peacekeeper Tatiana Woods told ABC7 news. “And then, ever since I came to UCAN … UCAN has been helping me better myself.”

UCAN serves as a sanctuary for trauma experience from gun violence, and inspires many of youth to become mentors to young children. 

“I actually believe most of our children want to be a part of the solution,” UCAN CEO Christa Hamilton told ABC7 Eyewitness News. “They just might not know how, and this gives them the avenue and something very tangible to speak these words out loud.”

UCAN said it plans to have all 700 youth it works with take the Ambassador of Peace pledge.

Read and watch the original story on ABC7 Eyewitness News.