WASHINGTON D.C., DC — After-school programs and recreation centers are a big part of Mayor Muriel Bowser's budget plan, but are they enough to keep kids from resorting to violence? We talked to advocates who said the city needs to do more.
Under the shelter of a nearby stoop in Southeast D.C., four young people talked to WUSA9 about what they need adults to do for them. The youngest of the group, 8-year-old Makayla said she spends her afternoons at her cousin’s house to play because “there be a lot of stuff going on outside."
The second-grader has already learned to limit her playtime, sacrificing her childhood for her safety.
“You can’t have fun no more, for real,” agreed 14-year-old Kaled. “I just want to see kids they can be safe don’t have to worry about gunshots because I have a brother and sister. It can happen to anyone.”
Councilmember Trayon White represents the kids’ neighborhoods of Ward 8 in Southeast. On Thursday, the Councilmember listened to testimony from community members as he considered the Mayor’s proposed budget for the Department of Parks and Recreation and its many youth programs.
According to testimony DPR will receive $7.3 Million in American Rescue Plan Act funds outside of the Mayor’s proposed budget. The $85 Million operating budget represents an 18% increase in local funds for DPR, but WUSA9 took a closer look at each line item and learned much of that extra money is going to staff salaries and not programming designed to keep kids off the streets.
According to the proposal, teen programs, seasonal camps and roving leaders, which provides outreach for nine – 21-year-olds at risk of “negative social behavior,” all get slashed. But “Out of School Time” which provides afterschool programs for six to 12-year-olds is slated to a bump of about $3,500.
The young people we spoke with find refuge in Guns Down Friday, a non-profit started by a veteran and parent Jawanna Hardy.
“I quit my day job and decided to dedicate my time and life to these children,” said Hardy.
“She takes some of the kids out and helps us not be in the streets and takes us out to eat whenever we’re hungry and stuff,” said one of her 15-year-old students Turki Bates.
But Hardy said she and the other organization leaders need the city’s support in resources and dollars to meet children where they are.