WASHINGTON — Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the District's summer youth programs amid community concerns over safety.
This year, the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) has opened 13,000 camp slots at over 60 locations across D.C.
The Mayor Marion Barry Summer Youth employment program will be giving 14,000 young people the opportunity to earn money as young as 14.
All programs are set to start Monday Jun. 26, said Mayor Bowser during an event at the the Raymond Recreation Center in Northwest D.C.
"We parents, caregivers, neighbors, all have a responsibility to connect our young people to the vast resources that are available to them," said Bowser.
Following the announcement, residents voiced their concerns over youth crime to D.C. officials. One community member told the mayor, she is worried that children that are in need of the programs are not being engaged by the resources available. "They're not making it to these programs. They are scared to walk to these rec centers," said the resident.
In February, a teenage boy was found with a gunshot wound outside the Raymond Recreation Center, and in March, a 15-year-old boy was shot outside the Turkey Thicket Rec Center in Northeast. Witnesses told WUSA9 that the teenager ran inside the center and asked for help.
DPR Director Thennie Freeman says they're taking steps to secure the premises. "Locations where we have our young people. The facilities are closed to the public. They can come in for access to restroom use but other than that we do not allow patrons in the same space with our young people," Freeman said.
As for the violence in the streets, D.C. Deputy Mayor of Public Safety Lindsey Appiah says they will continue saturating high-crime areas with additional patrolling. "We are doing that across the city in three to four hot spots in each District," Appiah told reporters.
D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) Chancellor Dr. Lewis Ferebee echoed community concerns about getting children safely to and from their summer activities. He says he is working on a plan with Appiah to address this issue. Ferebee says DCPS will be monitoring online to alert officials of any potential conflicts. "If students are not in school we are still doing the work of scanning social media," Ferebee said.
Conflicts on social media are resulting in violence involving young people in D.C., according to Interim Police Chief Ashan Benedict, who is asking parents to monitor their kid's accounts. Benedict also says he is seeing a trend that D.C. residents should be aware about. "If you look at the last 18 shootings, 83% of them took place in MPD's midnight tour of duty, 83%. That's late evening until five in the morning," Benedict said.
The Interim Chief said investigators have reason to believe that 15-year-old DeMarcos Pinckney and 17-year-old Kevin Mason had conflict with other groups. Both teenagers were shot and killed Sunday outside their Southeast home.
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