Evanston community bands together to fight youth violence - Chicago Tribune

"It got better for a little while, but then it died away," Bradford said.

This time, she wants the initiatives to continue.

When 14-year-old Dajae Coleman was shot and killed last month in Evanston — the victim of an apparent mistaken identity — it brought back sour memories for Bradford.

"I was totally torn up because I can relate to it," Bradford said. "As a parent that's happened to, it really hit home."

Though she said she couldn't bring herself to attend Coleman's funeral, she was at an Oct. 2 community forum on youth violence called by Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl, along with more than 400 others, hoping to add an experienced voice into the discussion on how to prevent future tragedies.

Bradford said she would like to see the co-pops and co-moms program resurrected, and she sees a need for more activities — not limited to sports — that extend into all of Evanston's neighborhoods.

Her son, James Kevin Jackson, was killed by rival gang members after an escalating series of disputes. But Coleman had no gang affiliations, police say, and was leaving a party Sept. 22 with a group of friends. They were apparently mistaken for a different group and targeted for retribution by a person with gang ties, police said.

Wesley Woodson III, 20, of Evanston, was charged Sept. 27 with first-degree murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm.

The killing sparked community anger over youth violence. At the community forum, current programs were discussed and people were asked to identify other areas for improvement. Parents and community members sat around tables, or in circles on a gymnasium floor, and came up with lists of suggestions, goals and initiatives to reduce violence and engage two key age groups of Evanston youth: 13-18 year olds, and 18-25 year olds.

The older age group is "where I believe our weakest link is," said Mayor Tisdahl.

Recurring suggestions included the need for more outreach workers, to talk directly to youth on the street; more volunteers and mentors for teens; more job fairs, apprenticeships or work training for older youth; more gathering spaces for teens; and to involve the youth in the discussion, rather than allowing it to be adult-driven.

Another Tisdahl initiative, sparked in the immediate aftermath of Coleman's death, was to create a gun buyback program. Working alongside the Evanston Community Foundation, a nonprofit which will accept donations and hold funds, the program seeks to get as many guns off the street as possible.

"We need to get the guns off the streets. the Supreme Court of the United States will not allow us to do that with gun control, so we have to do it ourselves," the mayor said.