For over 45 years, BUILD has worked in some of Chicago's toughest neighborhoods to stem the violence that takes away the positive potential - and, far too often, the very lives - of our youth. In 1969, BUILD started working with fewer than 200 gang-affiliated teens in one neighborhood and today BUILD serves nearly 3,000 youth annually, offering targeted services to enhance our impact in four priority communities - Austin, East Garfield Park, Humboldt Park and Logan Square - while continuing to provide support in other Chicago neighborhoods and throughout Cook County.

BUILD's programs are designed to meet both the immediate problem of preventing at-risk youth from joining gangs as well as working with gang-involved youth to develop alternatives to this destructive lifestyle. Our service population also includes youth who have come in contact with the justice system to prevent and/or provide alternatives to detention and assist with successful re-entry into their communities.