In the midst of a heat wave so intense that public officials recommended people stay home, more than 65 LGBT leaders and Lakeview residents packed into the 23 District police community room July 20 to brainstorm solutions to neighborhood crime.
The event was the first amicable gathering in recent weeks attended by residents in the community, many of whom had expressed concern that anti-crime efforts were targeting already marginalized queer youth. While previous conversations between youth and residents had unraveled into screaming matches on Facebook and at community meetings, most seemed to walk away July 20 not just pleased, but ready with solutions.
Alicia Ozier, executive director of HIV advocacy organization at Taskforce Prevention and Community Services, and Keith Green, director of federal affairs at AIDS Foundation Chicago, steered the meeting.
"My main goal for this meeting it so be happy in the success of finding two solutions," said Ozier at the start of the meeting.
Ozier promised those solutions at a July 6 CAPS ( Community Alternative Policing Strategy ) meeting, after fears of an influx of crime turned relations between residents and queer youth of color hostile. Ozier said her organization, which serves queer youth of color, was prepared to help residents and youth work together on solutions.
The meeting drew representatives from community groups citywide, including Affinity Community Services, the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance, Amigas Latinas, ALMA ( Association of Latino Men for Action ) Chicago, Center on Halsted, the LGBTQ Host Home Program, Equality Illinois, Project VIDA, the Chicago Department of Public Health, Broadway Youth Center, Vida/SIDA, The Civil Rights Agenda, Haymarket Center and the Chicago Gay Officers Action League. Representatives on behalf of 44th Ward Ald. Tom Tunney, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and 10th Dist. Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer also attended.
Ozier and Green helped attendees write rules for the evening, which included mutual respect and not making generalizations. Green facilitated discussions on what residents felt the problems were, while Ozier helped the room map out neighborhood crime hot spots.
"I think the one thing we can agree on is that we're all concerned citizens," Green said, seemingly guiding the room away from divides that have been growing in the community for weeks.
"There are people who are not LGBT youth who are preying on this community," Ozier said. "They're taking advantage of the situation."
A few residents said that they felt that large groups of loiterers were part of the problem. John Cunningham, a Lakeview resident who has been active in organizing residents around crime issues, said that he was worried that loiterers easily hid illegal activity by standing in large groups.
Several attendees also expressed the need for safe places for young people to go at night, while one person suggested that assault survivors needed more support in healing.
In the end, the group decided on two immediate undertakings. Youth-service providers decided to meet to create a new space for youth to go at night. The Guardian Angels, an organization of unarmed citizen patrols, offered to train community members. Citizens committed to working with merchants and gay police officers on providing a foot patrol in the neighborhood every night between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Attendees also agreed to create a new Facebook page. The "Take Back Boystown" page, which galvanized the community to response to crime, has drawn heat from some who say that conversations on it are racist. Residents have also complained that the page became a place for people to vent without actually contributing solutions.
The new page, named "Boystown Community Collaboration," will be created to spread information on community events and resources.
Spirits seemed high as the meeting wrapped up. Several participants commented on the diversity of organizations and people sitting at the table.
"I cannot imagine being in a better place than this right now," Ozier said. "This is amazing."
A follow-up meeting is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 17. Windy City Times will update when details become available.