Gun violence has made 2016 one of Chicago’s deadliest years. But one Chicago organization is promoting and giving cause for hope that things can and will get better: Off the Street Club (OTSC), which provides safety, education and encouragement to 3,000 children growing up in Chicago’s most violent neighborhood–West Garfield Park.
In an effort to show Chicago, and the world, the unexpected stories of hope behind all of the violence, OTSC has just unveiled the first ever “Bullet Hole Transplant.” By taking a real bullet hole from one of the bulletproof windows outside the Club and displaying it alongside the famous building fragments in the facade of Chicago’s iconic Tribune Tower, we have turned a symbol of violence into a symbol of hope.
The installation encourages people to visit HopeIsTougher.com, where they will watch the compelling story of Warren and his tragic experience with gun violence. Because of OTSC, Warren and thousands of others children are shielded from the violence on Chicago’s West Side. From the site, viewers can donate to the Club, helping to protect the children who call it home.
This effort was created in collaboration with creative agency partner Energy BBDO as part of the overarching “Hope Is Tougher” platform. The toughest people in West Garfield Park aren’t actually gang members; they’re the children of the Off the Street Club who choose hope. Their hope is tougher than gangs, drugs and violence.
The “Bullet Hole Transplant” installation is live outside the Tribune Tower in Chicago through October 25.