Chicago draws up plans to duplicate Rockford’s Family Peace Center

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - Rockford is being replicated in Chicago as the Windy City will be building it’s own Family Peace Center based off the center up and running in the Forest City.

Last fall the city of Chicago had their sights set on the Family Peace Center in Rockford with the intention to bring it to their area.

On Wednesday the group “Chicago Effort with Can Hope” toured the Rockford peace center at the direction of the Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

“No matter when that victimization occurred in your life, we are there for you. We are a place that will wrap our arms around you and walk with you and provide as much support as we possibly can,” said Jennifer Cacciapaligia, who is the executive director of domestic and community violence prevention in the city of Rockford.

Rockford’s center offers a range of services to help survivors of domestic, sexual, child and elder abuse and human trafficking. Folks from the country’s third largest city are to see what kind of successes they can duplicate from the state’s third largest city.

“Just to see us get to this point where we’ve been in operations for nearly three years,” she said. “To know that we are getting recognition across the state for our work here and that people are actually planning collaborative, multi-disciplinary team trips to come visit us is a really wonderful thing to see.”

Leaders with the city say the Chicago contingent also visited Milwaukee’s Family Peace Center and will visit one more in the country.

Rockford leaders say more meetings are being scheduled with the Chicago group to further the planning process,.

“I think that the team in general was pretty impressed with our area and the fact that there is such support for this work from the Mayor’s office and city council and so I think that was really remarkable for them,” said Cacciapaligia, “As people do hear more about us that it will cause us to have more visits and more attention.”

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