Clad in red, yellow and black, the marching band and dance troupe in a Gilmor Homes courtyard did more than celebrate a community center's opening. They ushered in a new location for safe summer activities.
Gilmor Homes is one of six citywide sites with a Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore summer camp. The program, which runs through Aug. 5, offers participants a positive summer outlet, said Ken Darden, Metro Baltimore chapter president.
"There's a lot of violence and a lot of drugs and a lot of gang activity" in city neighborhoods, Darden said. When kids "come to the Boys & Girls Club, they know that's the one place where they can be safe and where they can engage in fun activities."
About 40 staff and 300 youths are included in Darden's programming, which includes a book reading challenge, arts activities, fitness classes and weekly trips to places such as the Walters Art Museum and the national zoo in Washington.
Three blocks from Gilmor Homes, motivational posters and book shelves line the teal walls where an adult and 10 youths gather around a table. The young people's ages barely reach double digits, but their discussion mirrors one of adults: domestic violence, guns and drugs.
A silence hushes the youthful energy in the room when a 12-year-old speaks: "My mother says not to do drugs because her son died."
The youth at Kids Safe Zone at 1622 N. Carey St. participate in the harm reduction discussion group twice a week. Social workers, such as Rodney Lomax, a recent Morgan State University graduate with a master's degree in social work, help youths identify negative consequences to risky behaviors and positive responses to dangerous situations.
The children are exposed to the topics they discuss on an almost daily basis living in the surrounding Sandtown-Winchester and Harlem Park neighborhoods, where more than 30 percent of families are impoverished and the homicide rate is more than double that of Baltimore, according to a 2011 Health Department report.
Kids Safe Zone is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the summer.
Ericka Alston, director of business development at Penn North Community Resource Center, said the program provides youths the chance to see positive images, meet potential role models and find nonviolent outlets for their energy.
"Children do what they see, not what they're told," Alston said. "Our kids are treated as though they're different, but what's different is their environment."
Activities such as photography, writing and reading provide a creative outlet and the opportunity for youths to have discussions about nonviolence and personal safety.
Believe in Music is teaching music technology at Kids Safe Zone and Green Street Academy, at 125 N. Hilton St. Founder Kenny Liner said participants will write and record individual and group songs before making a music video. He does not censor the kids, but allows them to express their stories.
"There's so many aspects to music that aren't just notes on a page," Liner said. "My favorite part of my job is when a student makes a song that they're really proud of and they share it with their family."
Liner's students wrote and produced "Believe in Baltimore" in July 2015 about the death of Freddie Gray.
Tequon Alexander, 17, joined Believe in Music in February. The junior at Green Street Academy wants to pursue a career in music production. Liner's program helped him learn about the industry in a fun, interactive way, he said.
"It was still learning, but it was something that you were interested in learning, so it was fun," Alexander said.
Youths teaching each other is an integral component of Mentoring Male Teens in the Hood, a mentoring program run by Cameron Miles. About 40 young men, ages 8 to 18, take part in the year-round program, which meets two Saturdays a month, Miles said.
Mentors come from all backgrounds, ages and ethnicities, he added. The two-decade-old program hosts speakers, who often lead discussions related to nonviolence.
"We should be able to talk about differences," Miles said. "We need to have the conversations prior, so that when the situation comes up, it doesn't erupt."
The New Shiloh Baptist Church, at 2100 N. Monroe St., hosts the tutoring and mentoring session on the first Saturday and the team-building activity on the third Saturday of each month.
City Councilman Brandon Scott said summer programs are important for immediate needs, such as safety and food, but also benefit young people by pushing them outside their comfort zones. The vice chair of the Public Safety Committee said summer camps pushed him to try new things as a young man in Park Heights.
"It's about giving multiple opportunities to our young people, keeping them safe and keeping them healthy," Scott said. He said he hopes youths will "enjoy it, take advantage of it. Be a kid."
In an earlier version, a photo caption misstated who offered the Kids Safe Zone program. The Sun regrets the error.