In, Cycle of Risk: The Intersection of Poverty, Violence, and Trauma, our latest annual report on Illinois poverty, IMPACT has taken a comprehensive look at how a lack of resources, dwindling opportunities, historical oppression, and more fuel the violence crisis within our state. They create a cycle of poverty, violence, and trauma that has gone unaddressed and underfunded. (report attached)

Lauren Szymonik kept posing the same questions to members of the Empower Action coalition in Marlboro County: “What is the data telling you? What is the data saying about education? What is the data telling you about trauma?” The numbers were clear: according to 2014-16 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) surveys, 56% of the county’s 24,000 adults had experienced at least one ACE. In 2017-18, there were 212 cases of child maltreatment, including abuse and neglect, among the...