It is a program designed to give neighbors the chance to reclaim their streets from drug dealers.

Peoria police, the Peoria County State's Attorney's Office and the community confronted six alleged drug dealers, asking them to make a choice-- either change their lives or be charged with a felony.

"The pause button on your life has been pressed. Look at what God is trying to tell you," said Dennis Bailey, an admitted former drug dealer.

Community members, like Bailey, went face-to-face with six alleged drug dealers, pleading them to take a step back and assess the potential of their life in crime.

"There are only two ends, death and the penitentiary, neither of them are winners," said the former south side resident, who served time in prison before learning his lesson.

It was all part of the new initiative, Drug Market Intervention. It is a national program that started five-years-ago in North Carolina and has shown success in other cities nationally.

In Peoria, police mapped the city's crime and found the majority of it occurred within an 8 block radius on the south side. For hundreds of hours throughout the summer, police targeted that zone, working undercover making drug deals.

In total, 29 dealers were caught, these six were offered a chance at redemption because their records weren't violent or criminal in nature.

Throughout the meeting the other 23 dealer's mug shots were blown-up and propped on chairs to look back at the audience. They have all been arrested on felony drug charges and are currently in jail.

Assistant Peoria County State's Attorney Seth Uphoff says he has a case on each of them, including video evidence.

Wednesday night he played the video of their alleged drug deals with undercover agents. One of the alleged dealers said he didn't know they had him on tape and he nearly fell out of his chair when he saw himself on the screen.

Another alleged drug dealer chuckled during the videos as they played for the room.

"You can sit up here and laugh all you want, if you want to go to prison," said Uphoff, holding up the folder with their case in it.

Instead they were offered a deal, clean up your act and we won't charge you.

"I wish I could have had what they're getting 30-years-ago, but I didn't have one. Mine started after the Illinois Department of Corrections," said Bailey, who now works for a local IT company.

In total, about 100 members of the community came out, pleading the six to break the cycle.

"It is not like it used to be. I don't want to be afraid to let my grandchild out to ride bikes, I don't want to see fear in her eyes when she hears the gun shots," said LaVetta Ricca, a resident who has lived on the south side for 71-years.

The message the community sent was simple.

"We are here tonight because we see something good in you. We don't want to lose you to the prison, to the streets or to the cemetery," said one local preacher.

The five of the six alleged dealers stuck around afterwards to talk to the community members offering help. Now it's up to them to resume their lives and decide which ending they would like.

Uphoff says they will know Thursday morning if the six accepted the deal.

Peoria's Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard says the community has to step-up as well. The idea is while there is a lull in drug activity because 30 dealers are off the streets, be more vigilant if it returns.

"Call the police when you see a drug deal, we all have to work together for this to succeed, and I think we all want it to succeed," he said.