Inner Harbor Project works to make space more welcoming for teens

Diamond Sampson is part of a team of "peace ambassadors" who walk the Inner Harbor's promenade to send a message to business owners, police officers and visitors: City teens want to repair damaged relationships.

"We've heard the city was different when we hear different generations tell it," said 18-year-old Sampson, a recent Baltimore City College graduate. "They tell great stories about how they could go into the stores, and talk to the owners, that they knew them by first name.

"Our biggest goal is to get the city back to where it was."

The Inner Harbor Project, a youth-led nonprofit, began three years ago to establish goodwill with police and businesses and limit violence that has marred Baltimore's waterfront in the past. In its latest effort, announced Wednesday, the project is recruiting businesses to give teens a discount at restaurants and attractions in exchange for their community service.

The project's expanded effort comes as city and business leaders are focused on providing jobs and outlets for teens in the aftermath of rioting following Freddie Gray's death. Gray, 25, died in April after being injured in police custody.

The discount program offers a Harbor Card to young people, ages 13 to 19, who complete 10 hours of qualifying community service within three weeks. The teens also must sign a pledge to behave responsibly and wear a "Hood2Harbor" button to express support for the Inner Harbor Project while visiting downtown.

"We created the Harbor Card to fix the mistrust between store owners and teens," said Dayjanae Jones, 17, a rising senior at Baltimore City College from the Belair-Edison neighborhood. "The card can give store owners the opportunity to respect teens after all the riots."

The Inner Harbor has long been a meeting place for teens and occasionally a place where tensions flare. Last summer, a fight among students at Digital Harbor High sent one boy to the hospital with a concussion. Another student was cut on the face with a belt buckle.

An after-school brawl broke out in May 2013 among dozens of teens on the plaza in front of the Gallery on Pratt Street. And on St. Patrick's Day in 2012 hundreds of teens converged downtown and multiple fights broke out, leading to two stabbings and the beating of a tourist.

Kevin Harris, a spokesman for Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, said the mayor is a "huge proponent" of the Inner Harbor Project. The group plays "a constructive role in making their voices heard," Harris said.

"This is another example of thinking outside of the box to foster stronger relationships and better understanding between all of the people in Baltimore City," Harris said. "Breaking down those barriers is how we move forward as one city."

Four businesses will be offering discounts to start, as the group seeks to get more restaurants, shops and attractions to participate. The discounts are: 25 percent off bulk candy at It'Sugar; 30 percent off smoothies at Flying Fruit Fantasy; 20 percent off purchases at Dick's Last Resort; and buy one attraction, get two free at Ripley's Believe It or Not.

The cards featuring the teen's name and photo will be distributed beginning next month. The Inner Harbor Project plans to spread the word about the card through a music video and on social media.

Jesse Ochs, an operations manager at Dick's, said the restaurant wants to give teens a safe place to hang out. It's also an opportunity to drum up sales, he said.

"We see a million kids this time of year," Ochs said. "We do sarcastic service that works very well with teenagers. Our concept is tailor-made for teens. This is giving kids an opportunity to take control of their own reputations."

Kirby Fowler, president of the Downtown Partnership, said the group found credible youth leaders who can offer peer mediation, improve communication with police and serve as ambassadors to the business community.

"We've been supporters of the project since the first day, and we have only become more enthusiastic about the progress they've made," Fowler said.

The project's 25 youth leaders, including Sampson, work as Hood2Harbor Peace Ambassadors and wear distinctive blue shirts. They walk along the harbor during weekend nights and other times during the week to answer questions about the project and interact with businesses.

The group also holds workshops for police to improve interactions with young people and monitors social media to mediate conflicts between teens. They are working to develop a "Code of Etiquette" for teens.

Diamonta Boyd, a rising junior at Carver Vocational-Technical School, said the Inner Harbor Project has made a difference in his life. Since he started working last year as a youth leader on the discount card initiative, he has learned more about the harbor, the rules for its use and the way teens and adults can work together.

"It gives me a view of the adult mindset," said Boyd, 17. "I wanted to understand more why stuff happens. This gives me a lot of opportunity to meet people, important people."

ywenger@baltsun.com

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