The Peace Corner has quickly built up a base of loyal visitors and participants.  Each day, approximately 50 - 70 youths come to the Center.  We actually have very little to offer in the way of equipment and furnishings—a pool table, a ping-pong table and a few outdated computers.  But the young people have developed a sense of ownership of the facility, not only because they find acceptance, respect and caring here, but also because many of them have personally helped with the rehabilitation and fix up of our rented space.  In fact, after only a few months of operation, we realized a need for additional space and rented three large rooms at the rear of our storefront. We strongly encourage the active participation of young people in the improvement and maintenance of the Peace Corner because it helps to increase their attachment and respect for our shared space.  Even more important, it deepens their experience of creating something valuable through their own efforts.  It gives them hope that they can change things for the better, and helps them to understand that possibilities can become real through dedication and effort.

The Peace Corner tries to provide a safe space that is open to everyone in the neighborhood.  Regular participants have attachments to no less than five different gangs, yet we have never had a fight inside the facility.  Instead, several instances of peace and reconciliation have occurred through the mediation of Peace Corner staff.  We are gradually breaking down the artificial barriers that separate young people in the neighborhood.

          Violence is a way of life in the neighborhood.  In the last several months, five people have been killed in the immediate area.  Violence has even come right up to our doorstep.  Last summer, while we were away on a field trip to the beach with our participants, a person was shot to death on the sidewalk in front of the Peace Corner.  A bullet was lodged in the frame of our front door. 

          Our children live in the midst of this violence.  This is why the Peace Corner provides a space where young people can gather in an atmosphere of safety and caring, where they can be children, and where they can experience genuine feelings rather than the superficial toughness they must exhibit on the streets.
 

Goals and Programs  The activities of the Peace Corner are aimed at accomplishing the following closely related goals:

• Provide a safe haven and neutral ground to young people living in a neighborhood characterized by gang violence and drug use.
• Create a sense of belonging and community for young people as a potent alternative to the lure of street life and gang membership.
• Instil self-esteem and pride of accomplishment by endowing young people with responsibility and “ownership” of the Peace Corner.

          Because of the limited resources of the Peace Corner, volunteers have been a key component in expanding a range of programs.  In each program area, we attempt to respond to the expressed needs of young people using the facilities of the Center and people in the community as well.

Tutoring/GED Preparation

• Volunteers from Loyola University, Dominican University and some University professors conduct a GED preparation program.  They utilize a personalized approach since some of the young adults have been out of school for long time.
• Volunteers from different paths of life (Students, teachers, and other volunteers) conduct weekly tutoring sessions for our youth and also provide weekly computer classes for interested young people.

• Volunteer attorneys from a renowned LaSalle Street firm in Chicago are available on a regular schedule to help people with legal problems to assemble appropriate materials for their public defender.
• The Peace Corner's telephone is also available for neighbors who don’t have phones at home to receive calls from incarcerated family members.

• A friendly developer and construction company has offered to instruct a few selected young men in construction skills with the Peace Corner covering the cost of insurance and stipends to the participants.
• Recently we also started our own “Peace Corner Handy Man Service” employing youths form the neighborhood, doing clean up jobs, moving jobs and all kind of awkward job people may require. 

• The Support Group is available for those who have recently been released from prison to help reduce their potential for recidivism. Some youth are also completing their court mandated community service at the Peace Corner. 

• The Peace Corner provides an assortment of recreational activities including field trips to the beach and local museums, basketball tournaments and parking lot barbecues.

          In our almost three years of operation, we have realized some important indicators of success, chiefly in the continuing interest and broad participation of young people in Peace Corner's programs, including:

• A daily average of 50-70 young people visit the Peace Corner daily,
• 20 have received cost-free, confidential legal counselling from volunteer attorneys,
• 12 began and concluded GED preparation courses held at the Peace Corner,
• 20 attend a twice weekly tutoring program working individually with a tutor on academics or computer related studies,
• 50 participated in our summer recreation program.