Restoring the Path
Restore the path. Rebuild the streets.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Sally Hazelgrove has worked in Englewood since 2000, when she started volunteering at the neighborhood’s Juvenile Evening Reporting Center, which was developed to serve local juvenile offenders who would otherwise be held at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. Sally began to systematically study gang operations to better understand recruitment tactics and reward systems. In 2003, she started interviewing gang members in Chicago's Harold Ickes Homes, then a public housing project home to a notoriously violent criminal enterprise. Each time she asked a gang member why he stayed in the gang when he knew it would lead to death or prison, the answer always included two words: “love” and “respect.” In 2004, Sally Hazelgrove surveyed many gang-affiliated youth in Englewood, asking them what would get them off the streets. Boxing was the top answer, becoming Crushers Club’s first programming platform, with music eventually becoming the second platform.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Crushers Club
The Crushers Club youth violence prevention and reduction program opened its doors in Englewood in 2013 with an innovative youth-led approach that now utilizes: 1) adult/peer mentoring; 2) WorkForce youth employment/job skills development program; 3) supportive services (e.g., counseling with Crushers’ Trauma Specialist, safe transportation); 4) boxing, creative arts, and recreational activities (as therapeutic/social-emotional learning tools); and 5) community engagement activities (field trips, community gatherings).
Since 2013, 500+ youth have joined the Club (ages 8-18), which operates from dedicated space at Englewood’s Beautiful Zion M.B. Church. Crushers members are either justice-involved youth or acutely high-risk youth in the community (e.g., excessive school suspensions or gang activity/affiliation). Through a process of multi-year engagement, Crushers youth benefit from the support of caring African American adult mentors with strong community connections and peer mentors.
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of Englewood justice-involved and acutely high-risk community youth served by the violence prevention/reduction program
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents, Preteens, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people, Victims of crime and abuse
Related Program
Crushers Club
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Crushers is investing significant resources into the program experience for each Crushers Club youth (e.g., paid employment), so while this number will increase, it does convey tell the full impact.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Restoring the Path aims for Crushers Club to be the strongest alternative to gangs by providing high-risk boys and young men with the support and skills needed to restore their lives and improve their neighborhood. We seek to maintain and improve up on the meaningful outcomes Crushers Club has achieved, including the low recidivism rate for Crushers youth and the low-cost of redirecting high-risk youth in comparison to the high cost of juvenile incarceration. In addition to violence prevention/reduction outcomes, other valuable outcomes have included rising GPA's, fewer incidents of defiance at home/school (90% of parents report improved behavior), and a productive sense of purpose in the community.
Englewood youth are disproportionately impacted by inequities including poverty and under-invested communities. They experience trauma from gun violence and gang entrenchment/activity, which have risen to disturbing levels. We find that demand for employment among Englewood youth is higher than ever at a time when many families have been financially devastated by the pandemic. To reduce violent crime, too often committed by juveniles, we must be willing to replace the leading reasons youth join and remain in a gang in the first place. Crushers Club believes that a job, coupled with the Club’s organic program model, is a leading deterrent to juvenile crime; however, youth need an opportunity that develops the skills and capacity to keep a job and advance in a career.
Our goal is not just to avoid justice-involvement. Crushers Club helps to level the playing field so each young person has the opportunity to explore educational and professional interests on a path towards a career and financial security.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The Crushers Club youth violence prevention and reduction program (Monday-Friday) utilizes an innovative youth-led approach that includes:
1) adult and peer mentoring; 2) WorkForce youth employment/job skills development program; 3) supportive services (e.g., counseling with Crushers’ first Trauma Specialist on staff, safe transportation); 4) boxing, creative arts, and recreational activities (as therapeutic/social-emotional learning tools); and 5) community engagement activities (field trips, community gatherings).
Since 2013, 500+ youth have joined the Club (ages 8-18, 226 youth served in the past year), which operates from dedicated space at Englewood’s Beautiful Zion M.B. Church. Crushers members are either justice-involved youth or acutely high-risk youth in the community (e.g., excessive school suspensions or gang activity/affiliation). Through a process of multi-year engagement, Crushers youth benefit from the support of caring African American adult mentors with strong community connections and peer mentors. Peer mentoring by youth who have completed probation is highly effective in preventing active reoffending. Guest speakers/mentors (primarily BIPOC) inspire Crushers youth to realize that they have a right to dream about and begin planning their futures. Adult mentors contact parents at least twice each week to share and receive updates – communication that parents have greatly appreciated.
Crushers continues to grow its WorkForce program, which in 2020 expanded paid employment/job training at the Club and began leveraging community ties to match older youth (ages 14+) with real-world work opportunities at off-site businesses (e.g., catering, construction, hardware, furniture, car wash, corner store). Youth remain on the Crushers payroll for a period of time (10-15 hours per week; $15+ per hour; $350,000+ in youth wages in FY23). Some businesses take youth onto their own payroll, with the goal of doing so after several months of employment – supporting program sustainability. A paycheck is critical to preventing a young person from slipping back into crime and gang activity.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Crushers Club’s adult mentors either grew up or live in Englewood or have other personal connections to the neighborhood, while also being racially reflective of the youth served by the Club – giving them valuable “first person voice” when working with the youth. Crushers personnel receive opportunities for professional development and convenings where best practices for the field are shared (Cook County Juvenile Probation Department, ICJIA, etc.).
Crushers’ Trauma Specialist, Arraina Thomas (who the youth affectionately refer to as “Coach A”), is a licensed clinical counselor and trained trauma therapist who has worked extensively with populations that have experienced trauma through bias, poverty, violence, and loss. Participants check in with her when they arrive and have the opportunity for one-on-one time with her if they have had a challenging day or are facing a crisis.
Cook County honored Sally Hazelgrove with their 2017 “Woman of the Year” Award for her work with youth on probation. In April 2018, FBI Director Christopher Wray presented Ms. Hazelgrove with the “Director’s Community Leadership Award,” the highest recognition the FBI awards a civilian.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The majority (75%+) of Crushers justice-involved youth do not re-offend within three years, in stark contrast to the state average in which 87% do re-offend within three years. Crushers prides itself on its ability to redirect youth at a fraction of the high cost of juvenile incarceration. Crushers’ far higher success rate is achieved for less than $7,500 per youth per year, compared to $200,000+ annually for each youth detained by Cook County. A probation officer wrote: “Crushers Club is a beacon of hope,” “this program saves lives on a daily basis,” “the number one program offered on the streets of Englewood” (letters are available from probation officers, Illinois Representative Justin Slaughter, and Emmerson Buie Jr., FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Office, among others). A public defender caseworker noted her intention to refer youth to the Club, as she believes no other organization is doing the “essential groundwork” like Crushers.
In addition to violence prevention/reduction outcomes, other valuable outcomes have included rising GPA's, fewer incidents of defiance at home/school (90% of parents report improved behavior), and a productive sense of purpose in the community. A parent recently shared, “Without the Club, [my son] would be in the streets instead of working and staying in. It takes a village to save our boys, and Crushers has been that village – always there for us in a crisis.”
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Restoring the Path
Board of directorsas of 05/30/2023
Mr. Cory Chapton
Sally Hazelgrove
Restoring the Path
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 10/26/2020GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.