The Chicago Police Department (CPD) receives nearly $2 billion in annual funding, a disproportionate sum that starves local communities of life-affirming resources necessary for real community safety.

Chicago Peacebuilding responds by working alongside those directly impacted. We contribute to strategic coalition efforts to cut CPD's budget — with the goal of abolishing police completely.

Additionally, AFSC Chicago supports community needs and builds community alternatives. Using anti-colonialism as a framework, we make explicit the systemic interconnections between militarism abroad and its effects here in Chicago.

One key entry point for AFSC is the mental health care system in Chicago. We are working with the Treatment Not Trauma coalition to reopen 12 mental health clinics and establish a robust public mental health care system. The coalition aims to create a hotline to dispatch EMTs and social workers instead of armed police officers.

AFSC Chi Peace created the Youth Action Program (YAP), an annual program that brings together BIPOC youth from across Chicago. YAP seeks to examine the role of policing and militarism in the lives of youth. Through workshops, field trips, and projects, young people are equipped with essential organizing skills to resist harmful structures and work towards a world that actually keeps us safe. 

Guided by the Quaker belief in the divine light of each person, AFSC works with people of all faiths and backgrounds to challenge unjust systems and promote lasting peace.