University of Chicago Medicine, CeaseFire partner to address violence

In an effort to address urban violence on the South Side, the University of Chicago Medicine is partnering with CeaseFire Chicago to sponsor a "Violence Interrupter," who will focus on monitoring, mediating and defusing disputes in neighborhoods that the medical campus serves. The University of Chicago Medicine will provide $120,000 over three years to fund the Violence Interrupter. The partnership with CeaseFire is part of a broader initiative by UChicago Medicine to address the violence affecting its surrounding communities and the greater South Side. As part of the anti-violence initiative, UChicago Medicine also will host screenings of The Interrupters , the documentary movie directed by Oscar-nominated Steve James of Hoop Dreams and co-produced by Alex Kotlowitz, author of There Are No Children Here. The film, which follows three Interrupters for a year of working on the streets of Chicago, has been nominated for numerous awards and chosen as an official selection for the Sundance Film Festival. There will be six screenings of the film in 2012. The first screening will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Feb.