Meet the ‘Neighborhood Medics’ Trained to Save Chicago Shooting Victims Before Ambulances Arrive A novel program turns bystanders into first responders.

This article was originally published by Every Other Hour , a WBEZ Chicago project that asks the question: In Chicago, who picks up a gun and why?

A few weeks after she turned 15, Journey Jamison saved a man’s life. It was a hot Sunday afternoon last July. Journey said she was lying on her couch in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood when a stranger burst through the back door — bleeding from his neck.

“I’ve been shot. Can you help me?” the man pleaded.

Journey had recently been trained for this kind of situation, and she immediately said yes.

This story is about that yes. About a program that teaches Chicago residents to care for shooting victims, control a chaotic scene and talk to cops and paramedics. About how one group is enabling families to take more control over their surroundings in a city plagued by gun violence. About how learning to help your neighbors can change your view of the city you live in.

Journey’s story is part of a monthslong WBEZ project that looks at gun violence in Chicago and how people across the city respond to it.

Neighborhood medics