Chicago Shooting Survivors, In Their Own Words

About This Project

Summary

The Trace’s Survivors Storytelling Network — an opportunity for Chicagoans affected by gun violence to learn how to tell their own stories — is being renewed for a second year following a successful launch in 2023. Our engagement team recruits, trains, and pays survivors over the course of several months, and the resulting collection of personal essays is published in collaboration with several local outlets in order to better engage with communities repeatedly devastated by gun violence.

Goals & Objectives

The Trace developed its Survivors Storytelling Network with the intention to listen deeply to survivors of gun violence and work directly to support and serve them in telling their stories.

Results & Impact

Survivors who participated in this project said they felt empowered by the result; "Chicago Stories of Survival" won a first-place SFJ award in the "Inclusion and Representation in Features” category. The project was so successful that The Trace is carrying it out for a second cohort this year.