I’ve spent a sizable part of the past six years writing stories about life in Chicago neighborhoods where poverty is endemic and gangs rule. From the economics of the drug game to the plight of ex-offenders who cycle in and out of prison, from stories of good people making the most of bad situations to tales of families torn apart, physically and emotionally, by stray bullets shattering living room windows at mid-day.

A couple months ago, I came across two guys on the city’s West Side, former chiefs of the Vice Lords. I’ve met dozens of reformed gang members seeking ways to give back, almost as an act of penance for the role they played in wrecking their community. But these two Vice Lords are unique. They weren’t just bit players in the gang, they were chiefs, and as such they still command tremendous respect on the streets. Walking around with them I felt like I was hanging out with two celebrities.

In the heart of their neighborhood is an elementary school that was overrun with violence. Derek and Chevez saw what was happening and stepped in. They know the kids, they know the kids’ parents, and they, in effect, told everyone to stop the nonsense, stop fighting, stop hurling bottles at cars and beating each other up and waving pistols. The principal at the school welcomed the help, unorthodox as it was. And lo and behold, the violence stopped. Suspensions dropped way down. Kids had a peaceful environment to go to, a place where they could learn.

I’ve seen anti-violence initiatives big and small, seen million spent on carefully researched methods to intervene in kids’ lives and lead them down a path of non-violence. But in all the time I’ve been witnessing this sort of thing, I’ve never seen anything as effective as this. And I say that based on considerable reporting — interviewing teachers, family members, people in the neighborhood; spending time in the school; talking to people who used to hate Derek and Chevez and now see them as beacons of hope.

There is no single answer to stopping the horrifying violence that pervades poor neighborhoods. Any solution will be multi-faceted, and will require considerable economic investment to rebuild broken blocks. But what Derek and Chevez are doing, this very organic approach, an approach that stems from two men taking personal responsibility for their actions, seems like it must be part of the equation.

I hope that by sharing their story, word can get around that good things do bubble up from the roughest swaths of our cities, and those good things deserve to be examined and appreciated.

This is a link to the story: http://bit.ly/bmb1OM

If you’re willing, please re-blog, re-tweet and in any way possible circulate this story.

Thanks very much.