Mayor Brandon Johnson joined city officials and anti-violence advocates at Malcolm X College to recognize the third graduating class of victim advocate trainees. The Victim Advocate Training program, a collaboration between the Mayor’s Office of Community Safety (MOCS), the Department of Public Health (CDPH), and City Colleges of Chicago, is designed to equip participants with skills to support survivors affected by gun violence.
“I’m honored to be here today congratulating another incredible group of dedicated community advocates. I’m grateful for the commitment each has made to fostering stronger, safer communities,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “We will never completely turn the page on violence in our city if we don’t work to heal our communities and address the trauma that too many face. Our Victims’ Services Advocates show what Chicago is made of—compassion, resilience, and the determination to meet suffering with support.”
The training curriculum focuses on trauma-informed care and includes topics such as medical advocacy, navigating domestic violence resources, case management, vicarious trauma and self-care, safety planning for both advocates and survivors, gender-based violence, human trafficking, grief navigation, cultural humility, and coordination between community violence intervention (CVI) services.
This marks the third cohort since the program began in December 2024. Deputy Mayor of Community Safety Garien Gatewood noted ongoing progress: “Supporting victims and helping their families navigate hardship and trauma is the most important work that we do. We’re continuing to see crime trending down and violence trending down, and that’s great. But we cannot lose sight of those families who’ve been impacted by violence who need us to be there. By equipping Chicagoans with tools to aid and embrace their neighbors when they need it most, we’re laying the foundations of safer communities across our city.”
Stephaney Harris from MOCS added: “It’s a continued honor and pleasure to lead the charge in victim advocacy work. The journey to support professionalizing victim advocacy work in Chicago through the co-creation of a standardized, trauma-informed victim advocate training is a critical step toward ensuring that victim advocates from both large and grassroots organizations have equal access to the skills and knowledge necessary to effectively assist individuals who have experienced trauma due to community violence. As we celebrate yet another milestone in this work, we want to acknowledge the commitment, support, and invaluable feedback from victim advocates, survivors, and various thought partners."
Looking ahead, MOCS will continue its partnership with CDPH and City Colleges as well as other stakeholders to develop a certification pathway for career advancement among victim advocates and community health workers (CHWs). Malcolm X College will host this certification through its Community Health Worker program starting in 2026.
The 40-hour training certification is part of the People’s Plan for Community Safety—a strategy aimed at addressing root causes of violence through partnerships and investment in neighborhoods.
City data over the past year shows significant reductions in violent crime categories: homicides decreased by 28.4%, shootings by 32.4%, multi-victim shootings by 36.1%, robberies by 34.8%, vehicular hijackings by 48.9%, resulting in an overall drop in violent crime by 22.5%.
For more information about upcoming opportunities or details about the Victim Advocates training program contact Stephaney Harris at Stephaney.Harris@cityofchicago.org.