Background

A two-year participatory grantmaking effort at The Siragusa Family Foundation, the Investing in Movements for Prevention and Action for Community Transformation (I.M.P.A.C.T) Council seeks to support efforts addressing community violence on the south and west sides of Chicago. This work is guided by a nine-member community advisory council that consists of artists, policy experts, youth advocates, social workers, and community psychologists.

The I.M.P.A.C.T Council believes community violence is not only physical harm. It is also the intentional use of force, power, and systemic inequities such as poverty, racism, disinvestment, and exclusion that cause harm by undermining the safety, dignity, well-being, and connection of individuals or communities. Community violence is normalized by the absence of addressing it when seen or experienced. We also believe that solutions to address these conditions should be care-centered/human-centered and grounded in supporting an individual’s stability and connection.