What is CeaseFire?
CeaseFire intervenes in crises, mediates disputes between individuals, and intercedes on group disputes to prevent violent events. Our staff is [comprised of] seasoned, well-trained professionals … with a background on the streets. The Interrupters are a component of CeaseFire. We try to stop violence on the front end — the opposite of the police who respond after a crime has been committed.
What is your particular role with CeaseFire?
As an Interrupter my job is to go out into the community and stop the guys who are doing the shooting and killing — [and] try to get those guys to put their guns down and to see there is another way out.
What is the movie’s and CeaseFire’s overall message to communities across Chicago?
Our message is stop the shooting. Stop the killing. Save a future, save our kids.
Certainly the work can be dangerous. Is your family concerned about your safety?
I’ve got the great support of my wife and four kids. My wife has been bitten by the CeaseFire bug and worries about me. My wife has been in certain places where guns were pulled on me and she asked me to walk away from the job. [But] through the work I am doing, I hope to get off the streets.
For more information on CeaseFire, contact CeaseFire.com or [email protected]
–tony binns