Tio Hardiman is a nationally recognized community organizer, violence prevention strategist, author, educator, and two-time gubernatorial candidate who has dedicated more than two decades to advancing peace, restorative justice, and public safety initiatives in communities impacted by violence. As the Executive Director of Violence Interrupters, NFP, Hardiman has become one of the leading voices in the movement to address gun violence through public health intervention, conflict mediation, and community engagement.
In 1999, Hardiman joined CeaseFire, the internationally recognized violence reduction model later known as Cure Violence, which approaches violence as a contagious public health issue rather than solely a criminal justice matter. Building upon this groundbreaking framework, Hardiman founded the Violence Interrupters Initiative in 2004, creating a specialized team of
trained outreach workers and violence intervention professionals tasked with identifying, mediating, and de-escalating potentially deadly conflicts before violence occurs.
Under Hardiman’s leadership, the initiative expanded rapidly across Chicago and beyond. In 2004, the State of Illinois provided additional funding that allowed the program to grow from 5 to 15 Chicago communities and increase staffing from 20 to more than 130 Outreach Workers and Violence Interrupters. The model demonstrated measurable impact, contributing to significant reductions in shootings and homicides in targeted communities. In 2015, Hardiman successfully launched the Violence Interrupters Program in Freeport, where no homicides were recorded during the program’s first year of implementation. From 2016–2019, the organization expanded operations into Springfield. Today, Violence Interrupters continues to serve multiple Chicago communities including Austin, West Garfield Park, East Garfield Park, Auburn Gresham, South Shore, and Chatham.
The Violence Interrupters model has since expanded into 15 Chicago communities, multiple Illinois cities, cities across the United States, and internationally in countries including England, Iraq, and South Africa. More than 30 cities and 20 nations have explored or expressed interest in adapting the organization’s violence prevention strategies. Hardiman’s work gained international recognition through the award-winning documentary The Interrupters, which highlighted the efforts of violence intervention workers in Chicago and brought national attention to community-based violence prevention strategies. In addition to his organizing work, Hardiman is the author of multiple books, including Interrupting Gun Violence: The Public Health Approach and Death of an Addict: Resurrection of a Man. Beyond violence prevention, Hardiman has also collaborated with the Humane Society of the United States to raise awareness about illegal dog fighting and animal cruelty in urban communities, contributing to the development of anti-dog fighting intervention initiatives.
A respected educator and public speaker, Hardiman currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at North Park University, teaching courses in Criminal Justice and Restorative Justice. He is frequently featured in local, national, and international media, including appearances on CNN, BBC, National Public Radio, and major Chicago news outlets. His work has also been highlighted in publications such as The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, and Jet Magazine. Hardiman holds a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts and a master’s degree in Inner City Studies. Through decades of grassroots leadership, mentorship, advocacy, and policy engagement, he continues to influence violence prevention efforts and restorative justice practices both nationally and internationally.
For more information, visit Violence Interrupters, NFP or contact Tio Hardiman at tio_h@yahoo.com