Chicago Survivors to expand school-based programs for youngsters who have lost loved ones to homicide
CHICAGO (CBS) -- This upcoming school year, the organization Chicago Survivors plans to expand its school-based trauma support program to help even more students who have lost loved ones to homicide.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) was present Friday as Chicago Survivors announced plans for its expansion at the City of Praise Church, at 3250 W. 60th St. in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood.
The goal is to cut the red tape for families trying to heal after suffering such violent losses. For families with school-aged children, this means easier access to trauma support in a Chicago public school for free.
Those who provide support services with Chicago Survivors call themselves a small, but mighty team. But the people in their program would call them lifesavers.
Donna Pearson-Simmons is raising her daughter's two children—Keant'e, 6, and Emaria, 3.
"Keant'e went from a shy, quiet child to a very, talkative outgoing—he's able to talk about the incident that happened with his mom, where before, he would constantly just cry, cry," said Pearson-Simmons.
The family lost Erica Reed—Pearson-Simmons' daughter and Keant'e and Emaria's mom—on May 12 last year. She was 26 years old when she was shot in the head at a DIY club in the 8500 block of South Commercial Avenue in the South Chicago neighborhood.
Shaunaria Watson, a 31-year-old woman from Georgia, was arrested and charged in Reed's murder about a year later.
"It was kind of hard, because what do you tell a 5-year-old, you know, when he asks me: 'Where's my mommy? Is my mommy coming home?'" Pearson-Simmons said. "I had to let him know mom won't be home."
Pearson-Simmons' family connected with Chicago Survivors. The nonprofit offers support to the families of homicide victims free of charge.
"Children need help to process their pain so they will be less likely to turn to violence themselves," said Chicago Survivors executive director JaShawn Hill.
In 2023, Chicago Survivors started a pilot program in three schools—offering care to students mainly on the city's South and West sides. It was so successful that they received a $1 million grant from the state of Illinois.
Now, Chicago Survivors is using a new $2 million state grant to continue the program in 16 schools this year.
Arthur A. Libby Elementary School, at 5300 S. Loomis Blvd. across from Sherman Park in Back of the Yards, is one of them.
"The students are more calm now," said Mrs. Tabitha Johnson, a school counselor at Libby Elementary. "They're able to talk through things better, whereas they were kind of—some of them were shutting down before; didn't really know how to navigate life in general."
Chicago Survivors estimates that with the expansion, it will be able to help 100 Chicago Public Schools students dealing with the loss of a loved one.
