Gads Hill Center Hosts Peace Summit

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Local News

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Local News

On Saturday April 7, 2018 one hundred Latino and African American youth from across the south and southwest side of Chicago came together at Gads Hill Center for a Peace Summit in order to build the leadership skills needed to address the issue of violence in our city and to develop the social consciousness, competencies, and confidence to become agents of social change. Maricela García, Chief Executive Officer of Gads Hill Center, asserts that “[t]he perspective and voices of youth are critical to find solutions to social problems, including violence. However, those voices have been missing for too long in policy discussions. It is urgent to increase the skill level of youth to be subjects and not objects of social change.”  The Peace Summit gave youth the opportunity to dialogue directly with elected officials, including Jesús “Chuy” García, Commissioner for the 7th District on the Cook County Board, Theresa Mah, Illinois General Assembly (D-2), Sonya Harper, State Representative (D-6), and Aaron Ortiz, candidate for Illinois House (D-1), as well as Phillip Kwasinski, Chicago Police Captain. This conversation demonstrated to youth that involvement in national and local policy discourse can directly influence legislation and effect social change.

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Local News

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