ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – Leaders say domestic violence is the driver of most of the violent crime in the city of Rockford. A new report outlines the progress being made to help break the cycle of violence.
In 2024, the Mayor’s Office of Domestic and Community Violence Prevention Task Force split into four teams, including a group dedicated to strengthening support for at-risk youth.
Jennifer Cacciapaglia and the task force at the Mayor’s Office stand on the front lines of Rockford’s fight against domestic violence.
In 2024, the Mayor’s Office of Domestic and Community Violence reports serving 111 youth through trauma-informed prevention and intervention services.
“We have to get to our kids as soon as possible to the traumatic event to get them the tools and resources that all of us deserve and need to manage that trauma,” Cacciapaglia said. “And to get through to the other side of it and to do it in a way that reflects that our kids are not alone.”
She explains up to 70% of Illinois youth who are arrested for violent crimes have experienced a form of domestic or sexual violence.
“Domestic violence is community violence and domestic violence in the unmitigated trauma that comes from experiencing such a thing is a root cause of Rockford’s violent primary,” Cacciapaglia said.
In partnership with the Mayor’s office, the YMCA of Rock River Valley presents Camp HOPE, and its program Project Pathways, a week-long experience that helps kids ages 7 to 17 work through their trauma.
“Coming from an environment that may produce all these negative emotions, or it produces no hope,” Paula Capone, the Camp Hope and Project Pathways manager explained. “And they come into our program, and they are beginning to see who they are and who they’re meant to be.”
Capone says in 2024 they gave 40 kids the tools to experience hope, in a safe, nurturing environment.
“If you don’t believe in yourself, you don’t have hopes, what do you have? You have nothing and so we create that pathway to hope and healing,” Capone said.
Forty-nine of Rockford’s youth engaged in mentorship, support group and more thanks to city-wide services. Cacciapaglia said this is just the beginning.
“Know that you’re not alone and take a little bit of solace in that,” Cacciapaglia said. “Even if it hasn’t felt like it to date, you are not alone.”
A child can join Camp HOPE through a referral. From there, Capone will determine if a child is ready for camp or needs to start with Project Pathways. They hope to expand the camping experience by offering two camps in 2025.
In the year-in-review, the Mayor’s Office of Domestic and Community Violence Prevention reveals several events beginning in 2025, including:
- A peer-to-peer mentoring program
- Restorative practices events
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