June 04, 2021 Chris Patterson interviewed on ABC 7 Chicago Chris speaks about how important the consistent support of a Friend is to break the cycle of violence for Chicago's youth. Our Chief Program Officer, Chris Patterson, was featured on ABC 7. In this interview he talks about how environment and circumstances can welcome violence into a child's life and how many children need the consistent support our program provides to break the cycle of violence in their community. When asked about the tools that children need to succeed he says, "people just need to know that the hope and dream they have trapped in their mind can become a reality and we need to have a network around them that actually pushes them and makes that a reality for them". In addition, he talks about the importance of our program within the lives of our youth's caretakers and the support Friends provide to our families. Saying that with caregivers, Friends of the Children is "creating a village around our children, making sure that they have all the possibilities ... all the support they feel they need in order to be successful" Click here to watch the full interview.