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How one Chicago cop goes above and beyond the call of duty to combat violence
Chicago police Officer Jennifer Maddox goes above and beyond the call of duty to combat Chicago violence. "I saw a need for programming for the youth in an area that didn't have programming accessible to them," Maddox said. (Image source: CNN screen cap)

How one Chicago cop goes above and beyond the call of duty to combat violence

Born and raised in Chicago, Jennifer Maddox feels it's her duty to protect the city she loves — even if the city's leaders won't.

Maddox, a 2017 CNN Hero nominee, has fulfilled that calling by serving as a Chicago police officer for 20 years. But Maddox said she felt the need to "do more" when it came to reducing violence, particularly on the city's South Side.

Chicago's violent crime rate is among the highest in the country. Just last year, the number of people who died as a result of gun violence was at its highest in nearly 20 years. President Donald Trump has even threatened to "send in the feds" if the city's leaders can't contain the violence.

While city leaders appear crippled in their ability to effectively tackle the problem, Maddox isn't willing to just stand back and watch.

"We can't arrest our way out of this," Maddox told CNN. "Once I saw that there was another side to policing, I thought that I could do more."

That's why in 2010, Maddox started an after-school program called Future Ties, which aims to keep kids off the streets.

"I saw a need for programming for the youth in an area that didn't have programming accessible to them," Maddox told TheBlaze in an email.

Maddox explained that the name "Future Ties" comes from the fact that the program is aimed at "working and supporting our future but understanding it takes ties (meaning stakeholders, parents, businesses, churches, etc.) in the community to make this a possibility."

One of the first "ties" Maddox made was with Parkway Garden Homes, a low-income apartment complex on Chicago's South Side. Maddox worked as a security guard there before starting Future Ties. Before leaving her position there, she convinced the property's management to let her use some of the space in one of the building's basement to launch her after-school program for students in kindergarten through fifth grade, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Image source: CNN

Since the beginning of Future Ties, Maddox has partnered with other moms who live in the apartment complex to offer kids help with their homework and other activities such as arts and crafts, computer time, and board games. Future Ties also teaches participants how to resolve conflict peacefully, proper nutrition, and philosophy. But that's not all the organization offers underprivileged and at-risk children in Chicago.

Each summer, Future Ties hosts a camp attended by as many as 150 kids and up to 40 teenagers. In addition, the organization takes students on weekly field trips throughout the summer. The Future Ties website says they travel to places like the skating rink and the beach along Lake Michigan.

All of these activities and services are available at no cost. That's in some part thanks to the generosity of donors. But it's also thanks to Maddox, who, in addition to working as a Chicago police officer, currently works two other jobs to support the organization's work.

Also supporting the group's work are 10 staff members, six of whom are paid and four of whom volunteer their time and effort.

Image source: CNN

And it appears that the hard work is paying off.

"She helped me redefine the world more than what I actually knew it as," one Future Ties participant told CNN.

Apart from the fact that Maddox and Future Ties is truly changing lives, it's worth noting that the organization's lasting effect on the community's relations with law enforcement. Strained relations between police and minority communities have been widely discussed the past few years. Tensions boiled over in 2014 when white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson fatally shot Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black man. The U.S. Justice Department later determined the shooting was justified because Wilson feared for his life.

Another officer-involved shooting occurred in Maddox's hometown of Chicago. Police dashcam video released in November 2015 shows former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald on Oct. 20, 2014.

“I believe this is a moment that can build bridges of understanding rather than become a barrier of misunderstanding,” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said after the video's release. “I understand that people will be upset and will want to protest when they see this video.”

Both Emanual and the McDonald family, however, asked for residents to stay peaceful if they did protest.

City leaders' attempts to "build bridges" didn't pan out. In 2016, more than 4,300 people were shot and more than 750 died as the result of violent crime. The staggering statistics earned the city the nickname of "Chiraq," a reference to the number of Americans killed during the War in Iraq.

But as Tenesha Barner, a Chicago mother who volunteers with Future Ties, reminded the Sun-Times, big changes often occur with small strides.

“The thing is you don’t look for big solutions. You start small. Each one, reach one. You’ve got to start like that," Barner said.

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