BALTIMORE — Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is hopeful an upcoming youth engagement strategy can quell city violence against young people.
One component of that, as described in his State of the City speech last month - getting the city's youth in safe spaces, like rec centers, which are seeing extended hours this summer.
On Monday, renovations began at James Gross Rec Center in Park Heights. The city plans to build things up for kids - including playgrounds and basketball courts.
"As you can see it’s a lot needed here," said Etta Campbell, a west Baltimore resident. "The younger generation really, really need it."
"I hope they can just feel safe enough to come and know they're going to be safe here - know that people are looking out for them," Campbell added.
When WMAR asked the mayor how they’d get kids to attend the rec centers, the mayor said it won't be hard to get kids in the door.
"We’ll be talking about how we’re going on social media and targeting things to young people," said Scott, "We always have a specific website that we’ll be rolling out again as summer comes up for young people and their families - so they can see the programs available for them."
Baltimore will also re-enforce a youth curfew in response to violence affecting Baltimore's young residents.
Last month, two teens were shot along these familiar tourist attractions at the Inner Harbor. The next day, the mayor announced the return of that citywide curfew, which differs by time and age group.
WMAR asked the mayor for more information on the curfew plan, but he was mum on more details; we expect to hear more in the coming days.
"Just know that recreation and parks—all of our agencies—are going to play a part in that as well," said Scott. "Just as we did with the squeegee collaborative, building off of that success."
