Baltimore mayor announces events to keep youths engaged over the summer
Baltimore's mayor is rolling out a plan to keep youths safe and engaged over the summer.
During an announcement Thursday at Rash Field in the Inner Harbor, the mayor spoke to the return of full-fledged summer programming for nearly 200,000 city children.
"Summer is more than a break from school," Mayor Brandon Scott said.
The mayor rolled out the B'More Summer Information Hub, an online portal to a spate of programming.
| LINK: B'More Summer Information Hub
The city is making available spots for tens of thousands of kids in summer camps and classes, in addition to summer jobs for every child who wants one.
"This summer, when YouthWorks starts on July 5, we will have more than 6,500 young people joining the workforce, many of them, for the first time, at more than 400 work sites across the city," Scott said.
The mayor announced midnight basketball will return this year, bolstered by a summer party and event series called BMORE Lit. The mayor said it's all part of his violence intervention and crime reduction strategy.
"We know that when young people have things to do that are organized, that are safe, they're a lot less likely to end up being the victim of a violent crime," Scott said.
In addition, there's space for 3,000 youths to go to summer camp, 22,000 seats in programs across city schools and a new place to swim.
"The Big Splash will take place at the brand-new Druid Hill Park pool this summer that we will open up, finally, after years of renovation," Scott said.
When the grownups were finished, 11 News asked the youths in attendance for their take.
"Every time I go to Druid Hill Park, we always pass that pool. My dad and me are like, 'When's that pool going to be filled?' And, finally, I came just in time to hear that it's going to be filled," said Zion Pierre, 10.
"I'm definitely interested in the camps and everything related to having fun during the summer," said Syria Fields, 10.
The Teen Event Series was supposed to start Saturday at Rash Field, but because of inclement weather in the forecast, the kickoff has been pushed two weeks to May 28.