North Baltimore Journal

BALTIMORE, MD. - On June 27, Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced a series of updates to the City's summer engagement strategy including: expanded summer hours at ten recreation centers located across the city and the consolidation of the Youth Connection Centers that have played a central role in youth curfew engagement.

"Thanks to the hard work of all of our youth engagement partners, City employees, and young people who have participated in our summer engagement strategy so far, we've seen significant success in connecting with young people in a positive way and connecting those who need them with services," said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "Baltimore has come together to wrap our arms around our young people and ensure that they are able to have a safe, fun, and productive summer break. Today, we're making further adjustments to our approach that will help consolidate resources, prioritize ground-level outreach, and deepen the impact our summer engagement strategy is having in communities across the city. These adjustments are coming out of a detailed assessment about what was working and where improvements could be made, and we will continue to proactively assess our approach throughout the summer."

This past weekend, as part of the ongoing assessment of the entire youth engagement strategy, a shift to one Youth Connection Center was piloted with successful results. The Youth Connection Center at CC Jackson Recreation Center will remain open, with resources from the Rita Church Community Center location being redirected there. This shift will help reduce the overhead costs associated with operating two Youth Connection Centers and will refocus resources toward offsite outreach and engagement moving forward.

As a reminder, curfew activation is in effect on weekends and holidays until Sunday, September 3, 2023, for any young person under the age of 14 out after 10 p.m. and between the ages of 14-16 out after 11 p.m. on weekend or holiday nights, without a parent or guardian. Curfew-age young people are engaged by non-law enforcement staff where they are first encouraged to go home or call their parent or guardian before being offered transportation to the Youth Connection Center.

To date, weekend and holiday youth-involved homicides and nonfatal shootings are down compared to the same time period last year. So far, there has been no need to transport young people to the City's Youth Connection Centers since the Mayor initiated this engagement-focused approach to the summer youth curfew activation on Memorial Day weekend. Through offsite and mobile engagement by staff - which includes BCPSS social workers, University of Maryland social work students, MONSE and MOCFS staff, School Police, and We Our Us - have had positive interactions with hundreds of young people at both the static engagement locations - Inner Harbor, Fells Point, and Federal Hill - and while doing active engagement in neighborhoods throughout Baltimore.

Curfew activation is a part of the Scott Administration's B'More this Summer: Engage, Connect, B'More plan that integrates curfew engagement and a comprehensive schedule of programming opportunities especially tailored to Baltimore's young people to ensure that they are safe and engaged during the summer months.

This shift in curfew engagement resources is being paired with the additional expansion of hours of operation at ten recreation centers across the city. For the summer, the following centers will be open every Friday until 11:00 p.m. starting June 30:

• Cahill Recreation Center, 4001 Clifton Ave, Baltimore, MD 21216
• CC Jackson Recreation Center, 4910 Park Heights Ave, Baltimore, MD 21215
• Fred B. Leidig Recreation Center, 301 S Beechfield Ave, Baltimore, Md 21229
• Greenmount Recreation Center, 2304 Greenmount Ave, Baltimore, MD 21218
• Morrell Park Community Center, 2651 Tolley St, Baltimore, Md 21230
• Middle Branch Fitness and Wellness Center, 201 Reedbird Avenue, Baltimore MD 21225
• Councilwoman Rita R. Church Community Center, 2101 St Lo Dr, Baltimore, Md 21213 ·
• Robert C. Marshall Recreation Center, 1201 Pennsylvania Ave, Baltimore, Md 21217
• Roosevelt Recreation Center, 1221 W 36th St, Baltimore, MD 21211
• Virginia S. Baker Recreation Center, 2601 E Baltimore St, Baltimore, Md 21224

As part of this broader strategy designed to ensure that young people are able to have a safe and engaging summer, enjoy their time off from school, and are afforded programming that continues their social and emotional development, the City of Baltimore has a host of events and opportunities especially tailored for young people to enjoy. More information on the programming available can be found at: https://www.bmorechildren.com/bmoresummer.

Original source can be found here.