Kanoya Ali (00:03):
Welcome to License to Operate, a podcast that takes you inside the work happening on Chicago streets to reduce gun violence and transform lives. I'm Kanoya Ali.

Peter Cunningham (00:14):
And I'm Peter Cunningham.

(00:19):
So we are here today with Aaron Rivas. Aaron is an outreach leader with New Life Centers, which serves the Little Village community, and welcome to License To Operate. We're really here to just try and lift up the voices of the people who are doing this work. Like something good is going on in Chicago right now. We are seeing some positive trends and we don't take credit for it. We don't say, oh, it's all because of us or anything like that. But we do want to highlight the people who are doing the work and give them a chance to talk about what they're actually doing and what they're seeing.

Aaron Rivas (00:53):
That's what's up, man. That's love, man. Greatly humbled man to be here, sitting here in this studio and allowing my voice to be heard. And from what I hear from you guys, I'm the first Latino Latino brother to be here to speak on my people in the communities that we serve. So before we get started, man, I like to shout out my mentors, those that paved the way for decades when nobody was watching and the cameras weren't on, and they were serving the community without resources, using their own money to feed the young guys on the block and just trying to figure out how to do things without collaboration efforts and things of that nature. So man, shout out to my brother Benny Estrada. George Roque, who is another one of my mentors, man. Pastor George, man of God, special shout out to Matt Damario, man, another guy that's been in the neighborhood. And shout out to Team man, I'm here speaking on that. But shout out. Shout out New Life Street Irish team, the resiliency team of the victim advocates, the care navigators man, and just everyone that's

Peter Cunningham (01:57):
Under ground. How many guys you got working on community violence intervention in Little Village right now?

Aaron Rivas (02:04):
So right now we started, when I started, it was just me, myself, my brother, Louis Bianna and Dre. We started with the CP four P initiative,

Peter Cunningham (02:15):
C communities, partnering for Peace

Aaron Rivas (02:17):
Communities, partnering for Peace Man, this was in 2017 where they hired us three to unleash that initiative on the community. And at that time, man, I think we were six strong and we wore a lot of hats. We were the victim advocates, we were the case managers, we were the street outreach mentors. We were the court advocates. We were doing job readiness and a lot of those things. But right now, thank God our, we've been praying for more people, much as the harvest and few are the harvesters, and God answered our prayers. With this two initiative we were able to onboard over, we're 30 plus staff right now,

Peter Cunningham (02:57):
30 plus. So SC2 stands for scaling community Violence Intervention for Safe of Chicago, and it's funded by the business community, the foundations city, the county, and the state. And this is an attempt to take the work to scale, see if we can really hit a tipping point and serve maybe 50 to 75% of the young guys at risk. So how's it going?

Aaron Rivas (03:21):
We implemented this initiative in February of 2025. We started onboarding staff and the six that I was talking about, man, we all were pushed into a leadership position. We were always a part of one team and restructuring what we had, it was a little difficult man, because we were all kind of dedicated to each other, dedicated to going to work and kind of navigating the little village community without kind of borders boundaries. And with this initiative, man, we had to split up, man, because we needed leaders in certain pockets of the neighborhood

Peter Cunningham (03:59):
To cover

Aaron Rivas (04:01):
Places, to cover places, to cover more places, man. So that was a tough transition because like I said, man, we lean on each other, hanging out with each other, seeing each other every day. And then now it's like everybody got their own kind of their own little team right now.

Peter Cunningham (04:14):
So let me ask you this. When you think about the causes of the violence, there's a lot of people now saying, oh gee, there was a time when it was about street turf, about drug dealing turf or something. Then it was about a lot of it's personal. What causes the violence? Obviously speak about the Latino community where you work and that's where you come from, but in your view, what is the cause of it?

Aaron Rivas (04:39):
Man, that's kind of broad. You know what I'm saying? Because it could be anything from a simple relationship issue with their girlfriend, an issue at home. I know a lot of guys, man, and I tell this to a lot of people, man, I know a lot of guys that carry guns every day, not because they want to go and do something to somebody else. It's because the trauma, they just don't feel safe in their own neighborhood without it because of all the historical stuff that has been happening, man. And it's hard to kind of advocate for young men and men in general, and our young women as well, to tell the world like, man, these are great, great individuals, man, good hearts. When something happens in the community and then they're demonized and they're labeled as gang bangers and just highlighting acts of violence and things of that nature.

(05:38):
So it's a lot, man. It's family, mental illness, substance abuse, just lack of resources, man, in all the years that I've been working in Little Village in Bryan Park in the Pilsen area, I've never had a, Hey, you shouldn't gang bang, or You shouldn't carry guns, or I've never ever had to have that conversation with them that's like, I don't know how to say it or I don't know how to put it, but they know, you know what I'm saying? They know what's right and wrong. And to them, they do certain things because they feel like they have to. And for me, man, I'm just big bro. Man, I pull up, what's up man? What's your need today? What's going on with you? Have you eaten? Things like that, man, just showing love, man to the guys man goes a lot further than trying to talk about back in the day.

Kanoya Ali (06:40):
What's some of the success stories you've seen? What's a success story that really sits out on your mind?

Aaron Rivas (06:49):
Man, bro. So to be honest, every time, every time we're in a building and the young guys, man, little village, if you guys are familiar with it or go online and check it out, man, that's the land of the shags. You know what I'm saying? These young guys, man, they're shagged out and that's them telling the world. I'm about that. I'm about that without telling anybody. And you'll see these young guys, man, their hair long, tatted up, swagger, all kinds of things. And it's like when those young men walk into our buildings, they open the door and they just walk in, what's up? What's up my boy? Or what's up? Or that man, I tell a lot of people, this man, if you're doing this type of work, man, when you landed, when you're doing good, when you don't have to claim the community, it's when the community claims you.

(07:43):
You know what I'm saying? That you're doing something, you're doing something. So we pull up on a block or wherever, and the young guys, they got that, Aaron, they got a little song for you when you pull up. So it's like, what's up my boys? And to answer that question, success to me, man looks like that man continuous, the continuous growth of our programming. When the guys in the community know, Hey, Wednesday, there's program Wednesday and they pull up, we're going to go out to eat somewhere, we're going to do something. Or just when my phone just rings, man, hey, what's up bro? What are we on today? They're checking in with me. What are we going to do today, man? To me, those are successes, but bigger ones, I could talk about an individual. One of my first mentees, one of my first mentees, my very first day rock introduced me to a young man who was struggling. He was struggling with life, and I think at the time he was about 16 years old or something like that. And he had just gotten stabbed and ran over by a car or something like that.

(09:01):
He was at the house. And then man, when I saw him come out, I don't know, something struck me about this young man. Then he came down with the doctor's note for a prescription. He was like, yeah, he was talking to Rock, and I'm off to the side kind of looking. And he was like, yeah, they gave me this prescription and this and that. And I'm like, lemme see it. I'm like, Hey, I'm going to go get it. I'm going to fill it up. Is that cool? Can I go get it for you? He was like, yeah, man. So I went and I grabbed it and I came back, gave it to him, and he was like, damn, that's what's up. He was kind of surprised, like, oh, I appreciate that. So that referral was made at that moment and this young man, man, he would call me two, three in the morning just having like, Hey man, I'm going through it. And so every time he called, I made it a point to answer the phone. And even

Peter Cunningham (09:52):
In the middle of the night,

Aaron Rivas (09:53):
In the middle of the night, it's

Peter Cunningham (09:54):
Part of being an outreach worker, right?

Aaron Rivas (09:55):
Yeah. We never clock out, to be honest, man, because we have a saying within the organization that we're never on solid ground. Things could look good with the guys in the neighborhood, man. And it just takes one thing to kind of go crazy, set him off. But to answer your question, man, this young man, we've been through court dates, relationship issues, arrests, you name it, he, he's done it. And this was back in 2017. Fast forward to 2025, and now he's directing his own called We Strive Chicago. So we had a collaboration with Kat Chicago Adventure Therapy where we take the guys out to out canoeing and things of that nature. And to me, man, to us, it's super funny, man. You see these guys that are fearless in the neighborhood tatted up like, oh, whatever, nothing moves them, man on the

Peter Cunningham (10:56):
Put them on a little boat...

Aaron Rivas (10:57):
You put 'em out of the water and the kick comes out of them, man. And that to me was like, dang, it is super funny to watch, man. And so this individual, he got connected with Chicago Venture Therapy and they saw something in him as well. So he started messing with them outside of our programming. And man, he got certified in ice climbing, rock climbing, all kinds of stuff. And man, he just, he's doing very, very well for himself right now, man. So shout out, shout out my boy, man. That's what's up, man. He knows

Kanoya Ali (11:29):
Just by doing this work, you see that. And it's almost like I tell some of the young guys that my excitement come from them when almost I think about how Phil Jackson would be excited watching the Bulls or Michael Jordan or Scotty Pippen win some of Kobe Bryant win something based on maybe some guidance they gave. And even though I didn't take the shot, I feel as good as if I took the shot just to see you win. So I get what you're saying.

Aaron Rivas (12:01):
Yeah, for sure. Man, that was a huge win.

Kanoya Ali (12:03):
Is there a time when you, because I deal with this, sometimes you be like, you pour into some participants and it don't go that way, even if they trying,

Aaron Rivas (12:15):
Hmm

Kanoya Ali (12:15):
You know how somebody like you like, man, he made the change, but the street didn't let it go.

Aaron Rivas (12:22):
So hey, that's a good one, man. I had that on my heart on the way over here, and I'm like, man, what am I going to share? What am I going to say or what? So there was a conversation I had with Benny when I first started working, man, I started engaging these young dudes, man, 13, 14, 15, 16 year olds. And like I said, shagged up in the neighborhood out of school, not living at home. So they're in the streets all day. And so I had this, a group session with them, and we had this man, we had this talk like, Hey man, it was just a great conversation and I thought we made progress. So a lot of these guys, they trust me, man. They add me on their snap social media, and they don't cover nothing from you. They don't hide anything. So I had this conversation with these young men and they left the building, and man, maybe 10, 15 minutes later, I see they're on Snap, and I check in on them and all four of 'em, the guys that were in the car, man, they were all in the car and they all chopper up everybody, there's six, seven guns in the car.

(13:29):
And I'm like, what? I thought, you know what I'm saying? What happened, man? And that was a disheartened.

Peter Cunningham (13:36):
Was there a shooting or?

Aaron Rivas (13:37):
No, that was just like,

Peter Cunningham (13:40):
They just left saying they're taking pictures of everything

Aaron Rivas (13:42):
And they're in somebody else's neighborhood showing we spinning blocks. We out here where y'all at, kind of calling people out. And I'm like, oh my God. So I get to talking to Benny and I said, man, B, for real, bro. This is important to me, man. And I don't think I'm the man for this job, man. And he was like, whatcha talking about? Well, what do you mean? I'm like, man, so I gave him the story, man, I thought we were cool. We were eating, we were talking, man. And right now, bro, they're out there right now. And then he just looked at me like, man, hey, you know those kids that were in here, bro, eating with you, man, we've been trying to get them, man, for such a long time, bro. And I don't know what they see in you, bro, but that little bit of love that, what's up my boy? The hug and the space that you give 'em, man, that's the only love that they're ever feeling, bro. So if you're not here for them, man, what's going to happen to them, man? And to me, man, that opened my eyes that the transformation that we're looking for, man, we might not see it. It ain't overnight.

Kanoya Ali (14:52):
I've been out here, I've been doing this, this is my culture, so it's going to take some time for me to actually make that full shift. But I rock with you. I hear you. But at the same time, I'm still out here. And this how we communicate. If I'm spending a block, it may be even what I'm learning is that sometime these dudes is sending messages, it ain't even the fact that they really want to do something, but it's like, I'm just letting y'all know that if y'all want to do something to us, it's going, this is what we got to. You know what I'm saying, bro? Sometime it be like that. And just to hear you speak on that, I'm like,

Aaron Rivas (15:33):
Hey, messages loud and clear, bro, trust.

Kanoya Ali (15:36):
I'm saying, man, you like, damn, bro. I remember seeing one video man with this kid, and these guys came into the gymnasium. It was a gym, basketball, all these little dudes pulling out guns out the gym bags, they just, I'm like, man, it was like a hundred guns. Y'all let the gym, but they was letting, I guess they was letting people know that hey,

Peter Cunningham (16:07):
Signaling, yeah,

Kanoya Ali (16:09):
If y'all coming, this is what y'all got to look forward to. Yeah,

Peter Cunningham (16:12):
We'll be ready. Yeah,

Kanoya Ali (16:14):
Man,

Aaron Rivas (16:17):
That's a harsh reality, man. These young guys, man. And I think social media has a lot to do with that, man. A lot of these videos and things of that nature, man, it's a big influence on our youth man. As far as what the culture is now, man, to be honest, bro, just being able to hold programs and hold one-on-ones and things of that nature with these young guys, man, to me, we're winning right now, bro, because the community is, like I said, man, they're with us, man.

Peter Cunningham (16:50):
I mean, something's going good down there. I think I mentioned to you, you guys are down about 75% in shootings.

Aaron Rivas (16:56):
Hey, that's wild so

Peter Cunningham (16:57):
Far. It's crazy.

Aaron Rivas (16:58):
I know

Peter Cunningham (16:59):
Last year you were up a lot, right?

Aaron Rivas (17:00):
Yeah. 2024 was really bad.

Peter Cunningham (17:02):
It does go up and down, but the bottom line is you're down 75% so far this year. What do you think is going right? I mean, give us a sense of that.

Aaron Rivas (17:09):
So man, just right now, bro, to answer that question, man, I really, really want to shout out. Shout out all the peacekeepers man that are out there working in the communities, man, because these guys are the guys, man. You know what I'm saying? And the younger guys, man, I say this, bro, when you're doing good in the community, when you target the guys and you do stuff for them, specifically for them, man, when you're doing good in a community, man, it's contagious. People want to get involved.

Peter Cunningham (17:45):
Peace begets peace. Violence begets violence, but peace leads to peace. This is the program just for people's benefit. This is the one that where the guys who are still pretty close to the action, so to speak.

Aaron Rivas (17:57):
Oh, for sure.

Peter Cunningham (17:58):
Agree to disarm, put on a vest and occupy some of those tough, tough corners, right,

Aaron Rivas (18:03):
Man. Yeah. And you know what? Going back to 2020, you know what I'm saying? And when we were launching the Peacekeeper initiative, we used to wear vest. And a lot of times within the community, they're like, Hey man, tell them dudes with the vest. They can't be over here. They can't be over here. And then it went from them dudes with the vests can't be over here to like, man, where's my vest at? Hey. So man, to me, that right there is probably one of the biggest wins that we can, because it's not necessarily the message, it's the messenger.

Kanoya Ali (18:41):
In growing up, I didn't see a lot of professionals that look like me. I didn't see a black male teacher or a black firefighter, male firefighter. I didn't see that. Wow. A black male lawyer, black male doctor. I never seen that as a kid. But one thing I think about, when these guys see us do the work, often you'll hear them say stuff, I want to do what you do. And you be like, because they can identify. I could see myself doing that. So when you just said they like, okay, now where my vests at now I'm ready. I'm ready to do what y'all doing. Because if I'm making a change, let me put me in a lane where I can be successful, dignified. I'm not weak, I'm not soft. I'm still from the neighborhood. I'm still

Aaron Rivas (19:35):
Still me.

Kanoya Ali (19:35):
One of the guys, but I am not doing that no more.

Aaron Rivas (19:38):
So hey, that's a good one. That's a good point, man. In 2024 and the years before that, I think the slogan was boots on the ground. Boots on the ground,

Kanoya Ali (19:49):
Right.

Aaron Rivas (19:49):
But in 2025, man, and this is with us, man, boots on the ground is not enough. We got to be roots in the ground. We got to be rooted in the community. In order for things to change, man, we have to get people from the community to do the work in the community, man. So the peacekeeper initiative, man opened the door for some guys to be on board to be part of the team because,

Peter Cunningham (20:17):
And they're the only ones who could do it, let's face it.

Aaron Rivas (20:19):
Yeah, true,

Peter Cunningham (20:20):
True. They're the only ones who can do that program.

Aaron Rivas (20:21):
Yeah, no, for sure, man. Hey, shout out all the peacekeepers, man. May God bless you guys,

Kanoya Ali (20:26):
That's right.

Aaron Rivas (20:26):
Keep protecting you guys, man. And thank you for the support, man, my boys

Kanoya Ali (20:30):
Often, and we talk about the reinvestment in this work in the city of Chicago and other places, we just looking at society or the city trying to value or find value in this kind of work, we talk about Chicago has a lot of money set to the side for different things and projects. But us in this work, we saying, look, the value is in lives, the value of Chicago, the beauty of Chicago is in the people of the city. I personally believe that's the coolest part of Chicago is the people. And when people come to Chicago, they say stuff like, man, the culture, being able to go and get authentic Mexican food or Italian food or Greek food or soul food. Every culture has a representation and authenticity in the city where you can stop and go get a vibe of the culture. Chinatown, you could go get a vibe of that specific culture. And I'm just saying, we have to reinvest in the DNA of the people that's in those areas.

Aaron Rivas (21:40):
Come on man. Come on, bro.

Kanoya Ali (21:41):
And pull forth the root from the root, the youth That's There to be like, man, look, we need y'all to carry this torch forward to show the beauty of the city. And the city has to see that often. And I lay my play with this often, I feel like in Chicago, we look at our youth in impoverished areas, almost like you would look at the attic or the base or a closet area where it's like, if I'm remodeling the house, I'm not really thinking about the attic or the closet. I'm thinking about the kitchen and everything people going to see. So I'm looking at the Bear stadium, I'm looking at the high rises and the new neighborhoods, 78, all these big projects, they're spending billions of dollars. But the beauty of the city is in the people and we fighting over pennies. That's what, in essence,

Peter Cunningham (22:39):
One of the big differences in the African-American community and the Latino community is at least little Village is one of the most vibrant, economically vibrant places in America. Come on. Are you aware of that? It's one of the most vibrant,

Aaron Rivas (22:56):
I think we're number two, right?

Peter Cunningham (22:57):
Yeah. Something like that in the whole country. So a lot of young guys should be able to get jobs in the store and the local stores, things like that. That's not really the same case in the African-American community on the west side, Madison Street, for the longest time, they would just bought it up. Stores this better than anybody. So we're talking a lot about our jobs part of the solution. But the truth is, as you were explaining, quite often the causes of gun violence aren't just directly related to economics, right?

Aaron Rivas (23:29):
Yeah. And it's kind of tough to, when you bring that up, man, I think about when we were resource lists or we didn't have those type of resources that I was like, man, I'm trying to go in my bag and say, what can we come up? Or how can we figure out a way to get these guys employed? And I would go into the local shops, pizza places, restaurants and things of that nature. Like, Hey, introduce myself. Like, Hey, my name is Aaron Rivas. I'm with the new life centers in the community. And a lot of times the community don't even know that we have a mentoring program in the community. Like, oh, for real, what do you guys do? And we offer resources to this population, and are you hiring? Can you take a chance? And a lot of times, man, it's disheartening to say that our own, like you said, we have all these shops. We have all these stores, and they're not willing to invest in the community, man. And I would love to see that change, man.

Peter Cunningham (24:31):
So that young guys had jobs, could get a job in the grocery stores or whatever, the local stores, the restaurants, things like that.

Aaron Rivas (24:38):
So this is the thing, man, before SC2 two came to play, there was resources for young men, 16 to 24 years old, we would collaborate with different organizations and they all job readiness program, GED programs, things of that. But they were outside of the community and they're like, well, all they got to do is come and we'll give 'em bus cards and things of that nature. And I'm like, man, none of the guys are going to be standing on a bus. You know what I'm saying?

Peter Cunningham (25:04):
So many programs that deal with young people are designed for young people who don't have any issues. So much of what we are dealing with are guys who have lots of issues. And it's like you just have to build different organizations to deal with guys who've been traumatized, who feel unsafe, who have a lot of challenges

Aaron Rivas (25:28):
To that man. Historically, it would be disheartening again, man, that we would get a young man who was looking for employment, but he doesn't have his id, he doesn't have it. And we would've equip him like, Hey man, you don't got your id, man bet, let's go get this. We need this, we need that. And we were instilling hope in this young man, damn, I'm about to get this job. And then we would plug him into this program, and then all of a sudden it's like, oh, well, there's a background check. You got to pass a drug test, you got to your

Peter Cunningham (25:55):
You need a sar, you need a license.

Aaron Rivas (25:56):
All of this stuff that was like, man, super, super difficult to get for these guys. But here comes SE two kind of borderless resources. And then it was brought up, how would you implement this program? So we sat at the table, and man, you know what? We keep coming to this hard stop whenever we get to a certain position, man. And with SE two, we were able to get the partner pillars, man, the job readiness programs, the educational programs, and then the most important one of all, man, the mental health,

Peter Cunningham (26:27):
I was gonna say the trauma treatment,

Aaron Rivas (26:29):
The mental health. Now they're coming to the neighborhood to meet with the guys at the place where, at the office where they are always

Peter Cunningham (26:37):
Are telling the guy to get on the bus and go to some other neighborhood,

Aaron Rivas (26:40):
Man. So right now, for the SC2 initiative, we have about 120 participants right now, 120 participants that are from the west side, east side, and far east side. So now we're kind of spreading that resource to everyone, not just in one site with these 120 participants, 120 plus, I'm going to say about 40% of them chose mental health as a pillar for them to engage with. And man, it was like, that's what's up, man. You know what I'm saying?

Peter Cunningham (27:11):
Because a lot of 'em have to overcome that stigma.

Aaron Rivas (27:13):
Oh, for sure, man.

Peter Cunningham (27:16):
Jason was telling me, he said, when you say psychologists to us, we think crazy. We don't think therapy, we don't think someone to talk with.

Aaron Rivas (27:24):
I tell people like this man, so I'll get a phone call or request from a young man and says, Hey, Aaron, bro, can you do me a favor and Ubered me to the crib? I said, yeah, bro, where you at? And he's like two blocks away from his house, 16-year-old kid.

Peter Cunningham (27:39):
And he's afraid?

Aaron Rivas (27:40):
Broad daylight. It's not that he's afraid, it's that trauma that day. He feels something like, I'm not trying to take this walk, can you Uber, man? Yeah, bro, I got you. And this is the thing, man. It happens

Kanoya Ali (27:52):
All the time.

Aaron Rivas (27:53):
Hey, this is the thing, man. I know there was a song that Tupac had. He said, "I see death around the corner" and some of these kids, man, they look outside and they're like, I'm going to let this car pass by. Before I cross the street

Kanoya Ali (28:09):
Even I was talking to, we had just took a group of young brothers down to Philadelphia, feel right? And in this time, shout out just us ideas. We had a conference, they had a conference, we was able to go check 'em out. And we took 60 people, 50 participants and 10 staff. And we were in the lobby area of the Sheridan Hotel with some of 'em and just talking and just like it was two participants who actually were scheduled to come that was killed before we actually made it. And talking to some of they friends, and they was just speaking about how many friends they had killed and was being right there watching him die. You know what, the first one, I was right here and the second one, and we were sleeping in the same bed and all these type of things taking place. You're talking about, this happened so much for a 16-year-old, 17-year-old, 20-year-old. Oh,

Peter Cunningham (29:14):
Curtis talking about how many guys funerals going to funerals. Week after week,

Kanoya Ali (29:18):
Right? Yeah. So we was talking to a police officer yesterday. She was speaking about how some police officers had took their own lives based on trauma.

Aaron Rivas (29:31):
Man.

Kanoya Ali (29:32):
I'm like, man, it's some of these young dudes that just talking to them, just my assessment, I feel like they put themselves in situations where they'll most likely die. They'll do the same thing over and over and over and over again until it's they time, because they look at it as a way of, now I ain't personally killing myself, but I don't mind dying. You know what I'm saying? So they don't consistently go through certain traumas like you missing your best friend, you missing your brother. It is almost that survivor's remorse and you like, man, I should have saved him. I could have been there and da. So I'm going to keep spending and spending and spending until they either I'm going to get all of them.

Peter Cunningham (30:15):
Yeah, why should I live safely?

Kanoya Ali (30:16):
Or they gonna get all of me.

Peter Cunningham (30:17):
Yeah, right.

Kanoya Ali (30:18):
Or they going to get me.

Aaron Rivas (30:20):
I think, man, when you're saying that, man, you kind of triggered me. You know what I'm saying? We have a lot of guys who are bleeding on those that didn't cut them, if that makes any sense. It's crazy, bro, that you say that, man, because we just had orientations for the SE two, and we have participant orientation explaining to them the program and the commitment that we want from them. And man, this past the last Swan Man, as I was looking in the audience, I was seeing where you see one guy and you wouldn't see him without the other, and there was a lot of people that were missing friends and family members, man. And to me, it just hit me, bro, people are really losing their lives, man. And I think backtracking to how I began to do this work, man, I introduced myself as Aaron Rivas.

(31:25):
My name is Aaron Rivas, and I'm a man of God. And it was my walk with God that led me to where I am right now, man. And I was at church one day and one of the brothers at church was like, Hey man, I want to make an announcement to the church. A family member of mine passed away, and here's the address. If you guys want to back it up, we'll be here. Or whatever. He didn't give no details, nothing. So then he was a mentor to me when I was going into church. So I'm like, Hey man, sorry to hear that or whatever. I'll be there. So I'm driving to this funeral home, and when I pull up to the funeral home, I'm like, I had to look at the address like, damn, am I in the right place, man? I saw a bunch of young men nowadays, somebody passes away, they put your picture on a shirt, man.

(32:16):
And that's the culture right now. The young guys, man, they'll put your picture on a shirt and remembrance of you. And I was I seeing a bunch of shirts with all kinds of gang paraphernalia on the shirts with a picture of this young man. And I was like, oh, snap. Right? So I walk into the funeral home, man, and I tell this to a lot of people, man, that something changed me, man. The cries of a mother are super difficult to get out of your head. But it was the howls howls of a father as he was trying to hold his son in the casket that it just changed, changed me, man. It changed me as I was hearing him. The more he howled, the more he howled. It was just like stabbing my soul. And I walk up to him and I am holding him and like, Hey man, sorry.

(33:21):
And what do you say? How do you comfort? Sometimes I didn't know what to say. I make my way to the casket to just pay my respects, and I see his name and it said, Aaron, rest in peace. And it shocked me. I saw my name with RIP next to it, and I was like, oh, snap. And looking at the day he was born and the day he passed away, man, he got killed on his birthday. And I know whoever did that to this family, whoever did that to this young man didn't even know him. So I go back to the house, man, and I'm not the same. My family's like You okay? I'm like, no. They're like, what happened? So I'm telling them, I'm like, I don't know what's going on, but I can't believe that we're at this time of age and people are still getting killed.

(34:12):
People are still dying. Isn't anybody trying to do something? Doesn't anybody know that this is going on? Are we just going to be not my baby? Not my problem type deal. So man, it was one of those where again, the church, I go back to the church and it was the same person that gets up and he says, I feel like I have to say something to the church. He says, take a look around all these empty seats. The streets are not coming to the church. We got to take the church to the streets. And he was talking, he was talking. And I'm like, yeah, right, yeah, yeah, yeah. So he gets down and I'm like, man, I felt that. I felt like you were talking to me. I'm going to take the church to the streets. That's what I told him. I want to touch the streets, man.

(34:53):
I want to go out there. I'm not going to go out there and I don't want to talk to God. I want to show God. And man, that's how it started. I started driving around Little Village and I would see the guys and I would jump out on them and like, Hey man, can I pray for you? And some guys would be like, yeah, man. You're like, yeah, we need that. Yeah, we need that. And some people would be like, man, get your ass out this block, bro. We don't want that. But then I started going to the hospitals and I was praying for people at the hospitals. Then I was going to the jails and I was kind of praying for people at jails, and I was doing this song and dance with this community man. And then man, lo and behold, you know what I'm saying? You are. Look at where I am, man. Hospital response, court, ies, all that stuff that was in my heart, man, for me to change. And it's kind of careful for what you wish for, man. Because now if you really want to do something, man, you got to sit down and you got to have tough conversations with people that, you know what I'm saying, could be like,

Peter Cunningham (35:51):
This isn't chump work.

Aaron Rivas (35:53):
Yeah. Hey, who are you, bro? Who are you to come in here and speak on the community? And humbly speaking, man, I'm not the voice for Little Village man. I'm just a person who was led by, was led by God, man. And I know there was a void in Little Village, and that's how I got into this man. I was put into vigils and wakes and burials, and man, I got this thing right through scripture. I read something that Jesus said like love, I love you, and there's no greater love than to lay down your life for your friends. And to me, I'm like, man, that's the guys. You know what I'm saying? I said, man, they

Peter Cunningham (36:43):
Got a lot of love. They don't even know it, right?

Aaron Rivas (36:44):
Yeah. Man.

Peter Cunningham (36:45):
Thank You so much for being here.

Kanoya Ali (36:47):
That's it.

Peter Cunningham (36:47):
Amen.

Aaron Rivas (36:48):
Appreciate you guys, man. Thank you, bro.

Kanoya Ali (36:50):
Thank you.

Aaron Rivas (36:50):
God bless you guys. Appreciate it.

Kanoya Ali (36:57):
That's all for this episode of License to Operate. Please subscribe wherever you get your podcast and share this episode with your friends and family.

Peter Cunningham (37:05):
This podcast is a co-production of The Chi Podcast and Cunningham Creative. Until next time, I'm Peter Cunningham.

Kanoya Ali (37:12):
And I'm Kanoya Ali.