Despite extensive efforts to reduce gun violence, the city of Chicago has already experienced 500 homicides in 2016 — the most in over two decades. Local activists agree the epidemic stems from cultural and structural issues. “You can hire all of the police that you want. You’re not going to solve this problem, because these young men are acting in alignment with their cultural value system. They need a cultural retooling process,” said Lance Williams, a professor of Urban Affairs at Northeastern Illinois University. Williams cites frustration with the lack of job opportunities and subsequent poverty as contributing factors to the grim statistics. With nearly 50 percent of black men age 20 to 24 not in school or working, depression and anger has fostered violence, particularly in the South and West sides of Chicago. He also notes the prevalence of segregation within the city — African Americans primarily live in the poor South Side, whereas whites live in the wealthier business district. Meanwhile, several activist groups are determined to transform their communities. Cure Violence trains former criminals to stop violence as it happens and Mothers Against Senseless Killings (MASK) guards a street corner near a playground where multiple killings have occurred in the past. Chico Tillmon of CeaseFire Illinois is a former gang member and spent over 16 years in prison but is now pursuing a PhD and bringing peace to his neighborhood. “Being able to see all the violence and chaos in the community that I once was a part of, and that I once helped produce, pushed me or gave me an obligation to make a change,” he said.