No one escapes the ravages of violent crime in the toughest neighborhoods in Chicago.

"Crime is so much the norm in some places that people have become desensitized to the suffering of others," Tio Hardiman, founder and executive director of Violence Interrupters, told Southland Marquee. "People are looking over their shoulders every time they leave their homes, if they leave at all. They live in a world of despair."

Violence Interrupters was founded by Hardiman in 2004. The organization works to stem street violence and stop shootings and killings. Its members focus much of their intervention efforts on gang activity in the Austin, Englewood, Chatham, Roseland, West Humboldt Park, and East and West Garfield neighborhoods.

Hardiman's staff, many of them former gang members, are there for the victims as well.

"We help them with everyday things like errands but also help them get therapy they need to deal with the trauma," he said.

He cited the case of a blind woman whose 16-year-old son was recently fatally shot during a gang fight.

"He was her eyes," Hardiman said. "Now, we are. We take her to the doctors' appointments and run errands for her."

Hardiman recently held a healing session with nine women from the same family who were involved in a mass shooting on Halloween night near East Garfield Park. In all, 14 people were shot that night; one died. No one has been arrested in connection with the crime.

Hardiman appeared on "WGN News" to discuss the shooting. He spoke about how one of the women who was shot was saved through "the grace of God" by her purse, which took some force from the bullet. The women involved talked about how they were recovering from the violence and their injuries. The victims did not know the reason for the violence, other than it was from some so-called kids on a corner.

"This should be world news," Hardiman said during the healing session. "The same thing happened in Highland Park (at a July 4th shooting that killed seven people), and it was world news."

There is no getting out for many residents. Some city policies, including increasingly aggressive ticketing practices, make it even harder to stay.

ProPublica studied millions of citations, as reported by Southland Marquee. The organization found that households in ZIP codes with a majority of Black and Hispanic residents received tickets at approximately twice the rate of those in white areas between 2015 and 2019.

A local pastor told Southland Marquee in another article that this regressive ticketing policy is preventing Chicagoans from working, and communities of color are being impacted disproportionately.

"This is a regressive city policy that targets Black and brown communities, keeping them in a cycle of generational debt," Rev. Tyrone McGowan, associate pastor at the United Church of Christ in Robbins, said. "It primarily affects low-income Black households. Eight out of the 10 ZIP codes with the most ticket debt are Black ZIP codes. So, many people who are already struggling financially sink even further into debt as a result of this policy. Many go into bankruptcy, which is not an ideal solution, over something as simple as an unpaid ticket."

Ticketing in the city was up 25.7% during the first six months of 2022, according to a recent Chicago Sun-Times report. The number of tickets rose from 853,906 through June 30, 2021, to 1,073,919 tickets during the same period this year.

Uber, Lyft, and other ride-hail drivers can lose their privileges over a few unpaid traffic tickets. No other major U.S. city has a similar policy.

"Not a good decision," Hardiman said, referring to the city code covering ride-hail drivers. "There has to be a way to work this out so people can earn money and pay off the debt."

Hardiman opposes a winter towing policy that began on Dec. 1; it covers 107 miles of main streets throughout the city, imposing parking restrictions from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. The policy holds whether or not it snows. There is a minimum $150 towing fee, in addition to a $60 ticket and $25-per-day storage fee. Towing ends on April 1.

"I can understand if they're predicting a blizzard, but not every day," Hardiman said.

Hardiman also expressed his desire to ban ski masks in the city, CWBChicago reported. 

"Too many crimes are being committed," he said. "Too many people carjacked, people are being killed, people are being robbed with [sic] people wearing full-face ski masks."

"I don't see any ski slopes in Chicago," Hardiman told The Southland Journal. "No slopes, no ski masks!"

Violence Interrupters' most recent activity report covered January to June. It said the group mediated 32 gang conflicts, with much of their efforts in the neighborhoods listed above. The activity report said staff spent 800 hours working with over 80 at-risk youth – an effort that discourages young men from joining gangs, which is a key goal for the organization. Thirty-five out of 80 youth were referred for employment training with the organization, 40 were referred to educational services, and five were referred to mental health services. 

The organization held six peace summits in June. They also intervened and broke up at least 20 fights in the South Side area of Chicago.