Were praying for these a parents Worst Nightmare that they may live all over the coals of them to stick so clear in chicago it happens every day not. At all i believe sometime. Soon to float like the river a month of the deadliest cities in the us most victims are children who. Came close here dont want to help the city to the other. This man builds crosses for each use lost to the epidemic of Gang Violence here its almost can do to just stay alive we have 5 courses and we have to do things not to make it so 7 people close to 5 to a city of chicago. Clifton boonie mike founder is a loving grandfather back in the day he used to be a leading gang member he spent 27 years in jail for crimes ranging from assault to 1st degree murder after half a life behind bars others had filled his place and taken over the block once part of the problem moonie now spends his days as a gang intervention coordinator his porch is practically his Office Without him it would be too dangerous for us to film here. Is north already here his word carries weight it takes a courageous person. The stuff they speak to the kids they see a group of kids in the study now going through all misspeak it to deal walk around. And that make the difference to me and the average person because i go to class but try to make an honest living here it often takes holding down several underpaid jobs of wildes this man has been cleaning cars for 30 years 10 dollars each. But if youre looking for fast cash you sell drugs for the street gangs. As a hard job to convince them to stop selling drugs and they go get a legitimate job the only thing that can tell them that theres a lot of charm i get try to get them to see the long car its not as difficult. As to be the. Short life in the fast lane for most here thats all theyve ever know. Most of their fathers were absent in jail jarring their childhood their moms barely able to make ends meet. Growing up here often means falling for the wrong hero. It takes says several days on the streets before we meet gang members willing to talk to us. If you want to be a part is like you seen what were going to be hostile and we want to know is that is your choice going to be a part of so you see the reason that weve taken to you every reason that we take is to wait. A day to get a job if you mess around out here. You think you have the right im choosing to take the risk because of like face much like a car drives up they negotiate a price and hand over the drugs thats how it is here hustling instead of homework. What might look like just a couple of friends hanging out can quickly take a turn for the worse almost everyone here is armed. Jonathan started selling drugs at the age of 13 is to to tell the stories of friends he lost mike allen g. Who was killed in front of his school when he was just 16 like real good times this cargo was they paid. Something just doesnt mean if i. If i end up getting hurt i know my brother im a big brother no go get that for me. Its been a lot its been a lot of years going no one no the best the best rubber sock ever put to it. Me that the whole world will bless. But 57 mooney again watches over his streets but this time its different hes no angel but life has made him wiser he still does manage to get through to everyone i couldnt even imagine life without a gang bang bang a cool is the life that we chose at the end of day because we had no choice we were close enough feeling the love no matter who it is a what a phone a body had a choice and a life we got pushed to the point where we had no choice so we didnt even get out to do. And for many that means hanging around all day. Young people here have lost their faith in life having anything better to offer them the streets. In the gangs they trying to be the family they never had for a child but. This that would be like in his hometown this is lovely to just see elegant house for this to music only not going to be its not but so what we gained by with it we really have family over her like we all care for each other over the by we dont do we not we all do from under their belief is that theres some stuff they gave a we we did is we there nothing to do i never know what you see home. Hes the one who builds the crossroads for chicagos lost children greg zane asher is a retired carpenter each life taken he sets up another cross together they form a growing memorial on the west side. Greg himself suffered the tragic loss of 2 family members he knows what its like to have a loved one stone and from here. With this return to your. Brother making the crosses is also a way for greg to be able to work through his own trauma. My nicknames i believe you. Heard its hard in my shop i cry a lot my show. Is as. Ive i feel like im bad all these people because ive had that loss. And. It all seems like nobody was talk about it to them i do. Nobody wants to have a loss one noticed that my mother or that loved their game or like just say connor. She loved him to a certain point something where. There were. Once hes finished making a cross greg leaves it behind for the family of the deceased to take with them like tyrone blake sr. Even as a Police Officer he was unable to stop his own son from being drawn into the maelstrom of gang life and getting killed. They have no more as they have no you know. Its just hard to talk about is this. You know we garfield in life you. Know structure. They have no leadership so. The power not very strong. Tyrone blake. Junior did not live to see his 26th birthday. Paula points office fully rigged with on 10 i am radio scanners and monitors this is where he tracks Police Dispatches night by night listening in on police radio is not only legal in the us for the point its a crucial part of his work hes a freelance photojournalist who specialized in Police Operations the material he gathers he sells to local television stations for their crime related news. He has a range of contacts across the city he can send them to collect footage and he also hits the road himself every night. Just like it can be anywhere where people are shooting at each other you know i were. Asked for added protection. Some nights seems a little more dangerous than others some. But it certainly helps make me feel a little bit safer when were out there and the violence has ticked up in chicago so. Classy Downtown Chicago with its imposing skyline is world removed from the chicago lapointe work center he covers stories from the tougher side of town one that is really cool on camera hes been on the job for 20 years now and seldom sleeps more than 5 hours a day if that. Suits promise of. A cup of coffee sounds good. Local t. V. Stations pay between 150. 00 and 300. 00 for the footage he delivers although there are plenty of cases to cover poorly as hes known by police and gang members alike has to work hard for his money hes the citys Number One Police reporter and after all these years hes still passionate about his job. Here. Is that. If you have fear you cant you cant properly cover the city of chicago i dont know if you have fear its like if you were a war correspondent and you were assigned to afghanistan or iran this is the similar assignment at the end of the day every day someone is being shot at my life. So it is not much different than being a combat journalist that many times tonight is a quiet night and we already have several people shot. A quiet night in most cities around the world theres nobody shot but in chicago that is a couple of people shot. In his car the point has 7 scanners tuned in to all the different Emergency ServicesRadio Systems covering Emergency Services. 47 hes divorced with 2 grown up children of his own his son also works for him and like him is on the road night after night. Hallies 1st stop of the evening a woman on the man was shot and injured his movements are routine he wastes no time setting up his camera. The police have already roped off the area but even though theyve known fully for ages they make sure to keep him out a distance. Make sure i look good one officer calls out to him. Once the police have wrapped up wholly packs away his camera and continues on his journey the next crime scene is already waiting. For 53. As it gets warmer. Bullets d fly more violence as more the aggravation level is increased as you increase the temperatures people just get crazier and crazier. When the hottest summer days is when you get the most shootings because people are just. That the numbers in chicago have been really bad at the time that weve had weekends where we had 50 people shot a dozen killed and that happens more frequently than people might think and its unfortunate for pauli but night is far from over. A new day joins in chicagos west and south sides and reveals just how rundown these neighborhoods really are. People who grow up here a crammed into underfunded schools and have few offer to. It is for Career Development any welfare and Education Programs are quickly discontinued if they fail to deliver the expected results fast. Crumbling buildings toxic landscape its the exact opposite of the american dream. Unemployment is rife the middle class moved down years ago poverty here is selfperpetuating. Street work in bunia is one of the few people local youngsters respect hes disappointed with the meager funding being provided to tackle the overwhelming problems facing the community. Its worse than syria. And afghanistan every day its shootings and killings in this. And theres not a house that force that and because this weapon tree is so assessable now m. R. Community you can go get a god quicker than you can buy a bottle of juice. Chicago proud to be home to barack obama the countrys 1st africanamerican president and. Tourists flock to its magnificent glittering downtown area most children from the west side have never even had a glimpse of this picture perfect part of the city the gulf between black and white rich and poor is deeper here than in most other places in america one more reason why chicago is plagued by so much violence. Back on the west side boonie doesnt take his eyes off his granddaughter he couldnt see his own kids grow up he was in jail. On. The Street Corner where bernie buys treats for a little rain is known as the most dangerous in the area. And when temperatures rise so does the violence and with it the death toll on just 2 days in july and 2800 over 100 people were shot 15 fatally many victims were innocent bystanders who had nothing to do with the gangs im up by but my mother got her i got blah blah blah blah blah blah blah bony meets bubba an old acquaintance from the neighborhood here every. One where do you care of misrule like that a go bob r r he seems intimidating at 1st but soon its clear he has Mental Health problems and needs help i was in the room now is he good she knows some good c. Good i have a very only home he. Is going to shoot. Luckily its just a colorful water pistol but. Knowing. Him as. Otherwise the guns people carry here a real loaded and lethal. But this is this is an issue and i could know the man he lives he says it made me feel good that he did drugs dont last as my so he met in the email and he out in the street just that all that normally a person he approached like that when he got physical the them up a holiday daily violence is the sad norm 3 blocks down theres been a real shooting only the shell casings remain strewn across the street as silent witnesses the victims 3 teenagers the shots were fired from a moving car in the afternoon just as school ended and the students were going up the stairs to my house and i heard kind side and i knew my kids would drop to the floor it was a very scary says hes always there with a board and a saturday night. Live a sad day kids got to stay in the house they can come outside and play as their benches away so. Its in a neighborhood that have no money now i would like to go somewhere where i have no money now. Some residents are paralyzed by fear for their childrens lives others have become numb to it whoever lives here has learned to survive. You stay aware but you dont feel scared oh you would never come out the house. Just around. This that this weekend this watch is so wow moves i mean my models always there are positive people stay for make it if people dont have nothing going on in my life i have nothing to live for. Just keep it moving i really dont try to associate with a lot of people our spouses streets where. We targeted or the state or so thats. Just going over well i wish there were a few it has this well its. Small memorials for the dead a constant reminder of the ever present danger in chicago theres a shooting every 4 hours every 19 hours a fatal while there are more guns and fewer Police Officers here than in most other u. S. Cities and the police have a long standing reputation for racism its an explosive mix of factors here a rapidly added god. I demand that a child. Thats a quick prayer before setting to work the police have asked boone and other social workers for their help the police still have boonie registered as a gang member and often treat him unfairly he says but here they work hand in hand the violence is too severe for anyone sign to solve on its own. Have. It on her right here in his exam. I think you want to give make an up about the great work you go all right leave it to the People Living in a trust the social workers more than they do the least. That we could go to my younger brothers got shot one supplied with 30 year old in a 68 you. Happen to know that we are here. To. Visit other younger people to put the. When young kids and teenagers die in the neighborhood people are more open to the message to me and his colleagues friends. They work for a Youth DevelopmentOrganization Called bill which has been working to help at risk youngsters in chicago since 969. Me is part of a small team of experience thanks gang members street veterans he and his colleague carlos were both gang leaders in the past. In those days they could never have imagined working together with each other on the other side. Not how did he not im in town with your friends at least there are no big deal for next year and i was a different matter and all. When we knew we wouldnt we when it came together in our lives not actually we would have been a part of the problem you know with us it was your kids is the sound of station you know there has about that you wouldnt really know there were saw the individual family or the men and i look up to us to try to change their lives and give them jobs frankly yeah. Ive got a. Family i am from well i mean you know what get all the right but at the end of the day if the team meeting at the offices of bill mooney and his colleagues. Change ideas on how to get through to those they worry about most every day right. And carlos know all too well just how hard it can be to find a job after leaving jail. This is a given that ill go so i build as workers from all walks of life from College Graduates turn social workers to people Whose University was the street. Mooney has his very own method he approaches everyone in the community including its youngest residents and talks to them. So well with micah. That he was out so he didnt see it right. Its important that the kids trust him so that they can talk to him everyone here knows bernie and he knows this is the only way to reach some of them especially those who arent ready yet for the other activities and programs build office. The Organization Also offers discussion groups for juveniles with criminal records there not his strictly voluntarily attendance as one of their parole conditions carlos leads the group today theyre talking about their mothers this. Is no easy was 1st thing this. Is how so appreciate your mother every man knows who are some feign disinterest others shift on comfortably in their chance talking about their emotions is something theyve never really learnt to do we can we can help you guide you but you guys got to get worse you know what is it that you saw in the car last the former gang leader who spent 25 years in jail talked openly about his emotions and his mother she never failed to visit me she never filled the 2nd commissary of mine she never failed 70 pictures you know of family events she never killed children you know collect phone calls she was always. My home. 6 months into my big yeah they looked out after. It was gone my girlfriends. Go off. And thats the reality and thats why we do you know to give a respect to our moms you know to show that we care for you can have disagreements and she can be true but you guys know my. People lisa his openness gets the boys thinking shell find a way to make nice you know you know why she always put it. First so. This is my protect. You say because my mom was both my mother for. She told me even though she had a tough time raising me for both of us is to see always. An issue before you go for a while i mean now she just got out of prison last month. I have seen or felt like 234 years no she never taught delusions and taught this was all drugged up you know she was in the right my. Story is that they are reluctant to recall that many are reluctant to hear carlos does listen offers the boys options but hes well aware that ultimately they will have to fend for themselves back on the street. Sure. The only protection greg zaniest needs is a helmet he soles and hammers away so that others wont forget chicagos loss kids. Its a labor of love that requires him to work every single day. And weve got the worst kind of cancer or any country could ever have called gun violence and just get. It escalating nobody said. There is no cure for cancer what if there is no cure here i am going to be doing this like that you know and i cant keep. What is it. Its about a nation is walked away from god its about and im showing an act of congress you know im going there not those with a cross in the heart i got to get a hug thats my paycheck. 22 years ago greg found his father in law shot dead in front of him. Since that day hes not only been a carpenter but also a chronicler of those chicago has lost he researches their stories keeps lists and tries to push his own pain away just 2 months ago one of his daughters died suddenly of an overdose. Its difficult for him to talk about it. I guess a rude think its a to think that my daughter not me a list of all at work to do how are you both so i think this country will quickly go into hell. In the 10 years the last 10 years of it especially the last 2 years. Greg is inconsolable yet he tries to console others with his cro