‘I tell the young men, ‘Look at me. I once was where you’re at, and now I live just as good as you, but you’re doing something illegal.’

Marcus “Moon” Mitchell, 49, outreach and intervention manager at the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago, sits in the lobby of the non-profit’s office in West Garfield Park. INVC targets neighborhood residents who are among the most likely to be shot— or shoot someone— to a program of job training and counseling intended to steer them away from violence. (Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times)

Born and raised in West Garfield Park, Marcus “Moon” Mitchell remained a high-ranking gang member into his 40s before he was recruited to work for a community violence intervention group. Now he’s in charge of outreach workers for the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago. 

Mitchell’s teams recruit active gang members — mostly men in their 20s and 30s who are nearly 50 times more likely to be shot or to shoot someone than the average Chicagoan. Some of Mitchell’s staffers have been shot on the job. More than a few program participants have been killed as they tried to change their lives.