Aliento’s Statement on the death of Adam Toledo
The death of Adam Toledo, a 13 year old boy in the streets of Chicago at the hands of police is heartbreaking. Our heart and thoughts are with Adam’s family and friends.
“Too many kids from the neighborhood could have been Adam. Growing up in apartments next to government housing I saw kids younger than Adam with guns, with gangs, too many with who had seen too much at such an early age. Too much trauma. Wanting to belong, wanting to be loved. Wanting to be understood. Adam should be alive. He was a child. I wonder what the trauma that Adam's killing will do to his family, his friends, his neighborhood, the community and I hope that we as a society learn to be compassionate and have empathy for each other.” - Jose Patino - Education + External Affairs Director at Aliento
As an organization, we will continue to ground ourselves in our mission of transforming trauma into hope and action. We acknowledge how much trauma this brings to the community. We are opening our space this Saturday, Apr. 17 at our Arts+Healing workshop to anyone who has been impacted by this news.
We hold the family of Adam in our hearts and invite people to be in community and take time to process this loss. We stand in solidarity with our black, brown and communities of color, you are seen and you’re not alone.