Mayor Releases Recap of 2024 Summer Youth Engagement Strategy

BALTIMORE, MD (Monday, September 30, 2024) - Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott released data highlighting the outcomes of the Scott Administration's 2024 BMore Lit: More in '24 summer youth engagement strategy. Similar to summer 2023, this summer's approach was centered on providing productive and positive engagement opportunities for Baltimore's young people through events, opportunities, and resources that allow young people to enjoy themselves in a safe environment outside of school hours. These events were combined with a heightened focus on ground-level outreach in the areas young people commonly congregate, starting Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, that engaged young people directly to promote their safety and encouraged them to head home or otherwise avoid congregating in public spaces.

"Baltimore's young people are our city's future. They deserve opportunities to have fun and be safe in order to grow into their best selves and this dual engagement approach helped them do so," said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "I want to thank all of our partners who contributed to our efforts this summer. Together, we are demonstrating that we can improve outcomes for our young people when we deliver a comprehensive strategy that both gives them access to programming that they want to see and emphasizes collective safety for young people and our broader communities."

Safety Engagement

Building on last year's successful approach that de-emphasized the role of law enforcement in favor of proactive positive engagement, this summer, the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) and the Mayor's Office of African American Male Engagement (MOAAME) partnered with We Our Us, the PEACE Team, Redesigning Minds, and For My Kidz to provide in-person engagement during evening curfew hours and offer connections to services for young people and their families where needed. The target engagement areas were focused in locations that have historically seen significant numbers of young people gathering including but not limited to: Fells Point, Federal Hill, and the Inner Harbor.

From Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day, youth engagement staff had more than 500 positive interactions with young people in the areas they were deployed. As part of this engagement, staff documented 145 requests for services, including critical resources, employment, housing assistance, and reconnections with their school communities.

Additionally, from May 27, 2024, to September 2, 2024, crimes against young people decreased 25.7 percent compared to the same time period last year, May 29, 2023, to September 4, 2023, and youth homicide and nonfatal shooting victims dropped 48.6 percent.

Summer Programming

Throughout the summer, the Mayor's Office and the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks (BCRP) hosted a number of events for young people to come out and enjoy themselves in a safe environment including: BMore Night Hoops (ages 18+), Midnight Basketball (ages 14-17), pool parties, BCRP summer camps, and Rock the Block family block parties.

Additionally, through the Mayor's Office of Employment Development's annual summer YouthWorks program, teens and young adults were connected to employment opportunities with local business, nonprofit, and government employers. For the third consecutive year, every young person who filled out a YouthWorks application was offered a summer job.

These opportunities were informed by feedback from young people about what opportunities they would like to participate in this summer, especially around their desire for more events in their neighborhoods, pool parties, and basketball offerings.

Overall, thousands of young people throughout Baltimore were able to take advantage of the City's programming including:

• 2,034 participants at the Memorial Day Party to kick off the summer at Rash Field.
• Over 1,300 young people who attended at least one of three Splash Fest teen pool parties.
• 10,212 YouthWorks job offers across 747 participating employers.
• 2,220 young people who attended a BCRP summer camp.
• Over 3,000 backpacks distributed, and 2,650 meals provided to young people and their families at the Mayor's Back to School Event on August 24, 2024.
• Over 800 attendees at the Mayor's Office of Community Affairs' (MOCA) Rock the Block community block parties.
• Approximately 5,000 teens and young adults (ages 13-20) participated in Late Night Weekend Hype and Midnight Basketball programming at one of the 11 recreation centers listed below.

The following recreation centers operated under extended hours until 11pm every Friday and Saturday night from June 28 to August 16:

• CC Jackson, 4910 Park Heights Ave, Baltimore, MD 21216
• Cahill, 4001 Clifton Ave, Baltimore, MD 21216
• Fred B Leidig, 301 S Beechfield Ave, Baltimore, MD 21229
• Robert C Marshall, 1201 Pennsylvania Ave, Baltimore, MD 21217
• Middle Branch, 201 Reedbird Ave, Baltimore, MD 21225
• Rita Church, 2101 St Lo Dr, Baltimore, MD 21213
• Greenmount, 2304 Greenmount Ave, Baltimore, MD 21218
• Roosevelt, 1221 W 36th St, Baltimore, MD 21211
• Edgewood/Lyndhurst, 835 Allendale St, Baltimore, MD 21229
• Herring Run, 5001 Sinclair Ln, Baltimore, MD 21206
• Madison, 1401 E Biddle St, Baltimore, MD 21225

###