CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Fed up with the rise in violent crimes plaguing Chicago, community activist Early Walker decided to get to the root of the problem, which he believes may be related to perpetrators’ mental health status.
“I feel like that is a large portion of why there’s a huge uptick in violence,” Walker told WBBM Newsradio.
That’s why Walker on Tuesday launched a pilot program that offers free mental health screenings to residents living in communities most impacted by violence.
It will operate once a week for the next 30 days, spending the first two weeks on the West Side before moving to a South Side location for two weeks.
The program debuted as Chicago recorded another bloody weekend that saw 10 people killed and at least 50 others wounded in shootings across the city. Seven of the wounded were children ages 15 and younger.
The city also is experiencing a spike in carjackings and this year recorded at least 2,254 shootings through July 17, according to the city’s most recent data. That is up 10.3% from the same time last year, and 60% compared to 2019, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Walker said he hopes the initiative helps identify an individual who may also suffer from a mental illness before they act on a crime.
“I think that this is the starting point. I think that we have to catch the individual before they get to the thought of, ‘Hey, I want to go and shoot somebody,’ ‘Hey, I want to go and kill someone,’” Walker said.
More than 100 people lined the sidewalk at the southwest corner of Independence Boulevard and Roosevelt Road to speak with the two mental health clinicians on site. The counselors conducted preliminary screenings of mental health concerns that focused mostly on depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Based on their findings, the counselors will provide resources for the individuals during a follow-up.
“It doesn't necessarily mean that if you have a mental health issue that you go out and commit a crime, but a lot of individuals that do commit crimes have untreated or undiagnosed mental health issues,” Jasmin Weaver, one of the specialists, told WBBM Newsradio.
There’s also a high correlation between mental illness and the prison system, which is overpopulated with people suffering from mental health issues, Weaver said.
She said many people living in high-crime communities are often victims of trauma who haven’t been able to get their needs met. Oftentimes, she said, that’s led to people making impulsive decisions out of desperation.
“And instead of getting them into appropriate facilities or giving them appropriate treatment, they end up in the criminal justice system and are not getting the treatment that they need,” Weaver explained.
Walker shared the initiative with Chicago Police Supt. David Brown, who then told Deputy Chief Ernest Cato to “guide” Walker to the places he needed to be. The first spot was North Lawndale, Cato told WBBM Newsradio.
Cato, who works in Area 4 that covers the West Side, said he wanted the program to launch in North Lawndale because it’s had multiple mass shootings and has limited resources.
“Specifically on the West Side, multiple young folks have been shot. Hopefully, we can find the mind of one individual who needs some form of treatment,” Cato said. “What’s going on in our world and our society isn’t necessarily that someone is evil or bad, they have issues that need to be dealt with.”
Walker said the Chicago Police Department has provided him with a database of resources to share with individuals who may require more services than the on-site counselors may be able to provide.
Community feedback will be a major factor in deciding whether Walker’s program continues after the trial period. Part of the challenge is destigmatizing mental health and letting residents know that resources are available to them.
Walker said many won’t go into a brick-and-mortar mental health facility, which is why he set up the screenings in a high-trafficked outdoor location and offered $10 McDonald’s gift cards as an incentive. He even tapped Michael Airhart with Taste for the Homeless to prepare free freshly made tacos for participants.
“We’re trying to support target areas in Chicago that need it the most with the hopes of collecting enough data to be able to take it to our legislators and showing them this is something that's definitely needed,” said Walker, who grew up in North Lawndale.
This is the latest anti-violence push Walker has spearheaded. He founded the group “I’m Telling, Don’t Shoot” last summer after 1-year-old Sincere Gaston was killed in a drive-by shooting, one of several children under age 3 shot within days of each other. When carjackings in the city dramatically increased earlier this year, Walker created Operation Safe Pump, which offers protection to drivers when they’re at gas stations in the city.
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