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FREE Vol. 39 No. 48
December 3, 2025 ■ Also serving Garfield Park ■ austinweeklynews.com
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West Side violence ‘interrupters’ work to make neighborhoods safer Once a victim himself, Hardy works to stem gun violence By DEBORAH BAYLISS Contributing Reporter
Nekenya Hardy, associate director of outreach and intervention for the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago, walked onto the stage at the Morgan MFG venue last month during Austin Coming Together’s Membership Award event to receive the Illinois Peace Portrait Award for 2025. An African American male with dreadlocks, Hardy easily fits a general description of countless other young Black males who could be caught in a life of violence. Instead, he is part of the “violence interrupters” who are helping change the lives of young Black men caught up in the perilous grip of street life, through a collaborative community approach. A victim of gun violence in 2004, Hardy, 45, was approached by his cousin, See NEKENYA HARDY on page 6
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Habilitative Systems honors West Side educators The HSI Race and Health Equity Awards are Dec. 12 By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
TODD BANNOR
Nekenya Hardy at Grace & Peace Church on Dec. 1.
Seven educators on the West and South Side are being honored at Habilitative Systems Inc.’s 5th annual Race and Health Equity Awards on Dec. 12 at the Garfield Park Conservatory. The event is a fundraiser for HSI, which provides behavioral health and human services to 17 Chicago communities, many on the West Side. In 1978, HSI launched in a Lawndale church and now offers programs for adult mental health, child case management, crisis counseling and emergency housing, among other services. See AWARDS on page 4