Chicago Area Project Cap

Chicago Area Project (CAP) was founded in the 1930's by Clifford Shaw, a University of Chicago sociologist, who believed every neighborhood could reduce juvenile delinquency by improving community life. Our original mission has not changed since that founding. CAP's long history of community building has demonstrated that low-income residents are as capable as others in addressing critical neighborhood issues. CAP believes that community problems cannot be solved by bringing in outside agencies to "fix" local problems such as delinquency, gang violence, substance abuse, and unemployment. Chicago Area Project is a strong network of more than 30 grassroots organizations and numerous special projects aimed at promoting positive youth development and preventing juvenile delinquency through community-building. Begun in 1934, CAP is founded on the concept that every neighborhood has the leaders it needs to solve its own problems. CAP identifies community leaders and supports their grassroots efforts to mobilize residents to create grass-root driven community organizations aimed at addressing risk-factors and strengthening protective factors to support and guide young people, families and community conditions contributing to unhealthy socio-economic circumstances Working together, neighborhood leaders and residents prioritize neighborhood-specific issues, seek effective solutions, and identify available resources to address them.