Tough Love

"Tough Love" follows violence intervention workers, often former offenders, as they interrupt gun violence in American cities. Partnering with data scientists, they provide outreach to the most vulnerable. The project starts in New Haven with CTVIP.

For five years, William Outlaw, a violence intervention worker in New Haven, tried to help Ciera “Cee Cee” Jones, the only female member of a gang. He got her a job, encouraged her to return to school, bought her a prom dress. Yet, in July 2021, Cee Cee was shot dead outside her home. She was the third member of her family to be murdered in a year. Outlaw’s failure to save her weighs heavily on him.

Violence like this is not random. Studies show that 80% of shootings are confined to 4% of a community’s population, tied through social networks. Like diseases, gun violence spreads predictably within these tight networks. In Chicago, one shooting was connected to 64 others. Yet, many violence intervention workers like Outlaw rely on personal experience to break these cycles. What if data could improve their efforts?

This is what the Street Outreach Analytics Response (SOAR) Initiative in Chicago is doing. Every week, SOAR gathers outreach workers and researchers to analyze social network maps of recent shootings. The maps show who is most likely to be affected next, helping prevent retaliation. This "social GPS" merges data with deep community knowledge, guiding intervention teams beyond their immediate circles to stop violence where it matters.

“Tough Love” documents the lives of these outreach workers—many formerly incarcerated—as they start collaborating with data scientists to reduce violence. The project will show how collaboration and data empower outreach workers to save lives.

The goal is to present to a wider audience, including policymakers, a comprehensive view of how gun violence can be prevented through positive engagement and collaboration, rather than punitive responses that mostly affect underserved communities.

Going forward: In New Haven, the goal is to continue documenting outreach workers, youth accompanied by CTVIP, community events, effects of shootings (hospital care, family), CTVIP’s in-prison program at Cheshire Correctional Facility... In Chicago, it will be to document ChicagoCRED and the SOAR program, where collaboration with data scientists takes place. Another objective of the project is to implement a data visualization portion, creating 3D motion graphics connecting data with photographs of personal relationships.

On the research side, I am collaborating with:

- Andrew V. Papachristos, a leading expert in the study of crime and urban neighborhoods, whom applies network science to violence prevention strategies.

- Charles Barber, a nonfiction author who focuses on stories of personal transformation, which includes his biography of William Outlaw (CTVIP outreach worker) in "Citizen Outlaw."