Philly teens say safety concerns hinder city rec centers

To gain admittance to a Center City meeting space called The Hive, on Saturday morning, visitors first had to speak the password: “I am here to be the change in my community.”

A couple of dozen budding change agents arrived to participate in “Youth Jawn” — as Philadelphia’s Parks and Recreation Department called it — an event meant to engage young people, aged 14 to 24, in figuring out how to breathe life into the city’s rec centers.

» READ MORE: Philly’s Rebuild program is back on track after a dustup in Council over funding

Jaidyn Williams, 15, an Olney resident who runs track but would like the opportunity to train in field events — and vie for the scholarships that could make accessible — had a simple ask: “After quarantine, I feel like a lot of funding for sports got taken away. I want to know, what can we do to get that back?”

Though the city has undertaken a five-year, $400 million overhaul of city recreation centers under the banner of Rebuild, Mayor Jim Kenney’s signature initiative, they’re failing to attract teens and young adults in significant numbers, parks officials said.

So, now, the department is seeking to reimagine youth programming at the centers, enlisting youth leaders from across the city to become the architects of that effort.

“We see a pretty dramatic falloff of young people coming to the rec centers past middle-school age,” Parks and Recreation Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell said. “It’s so important to hear why they don’t go to rec centers. To hear why they’re not going, what would make them go — these have been mysteries to us.”

» READ MORE: A 14-year-old boy has been charged with murder in the killing of a West Philly rec center employee

What teens had to say was not entirely surprising: They’re concerned about safety, both at the centers and on the surrounding blocks. Police counted more than 700 shootings within 400 feet of city rec centers since 2020, The Inquirer previously reported — including the fatal shooting of Tiffany Fletcher, 41, while working at Mill Creek rec in September.

But they said they’d be inclined to attend for relevant programming and job opportunities, or even just to hang out if the centers were cleaner, less dreary, and more inviting.

They mentioned dance and yoga classes, properly funded sports leagues, and programs offering music, art, and chess.

Tyler Hamilton, 13, a regular at Joseph E. Mander Rec Center at 33rd and Diamond Streets, said he’d like “for them to come and do art with us, to come teach us new languages — to help us express ourselves.”

The daylong brainstorming and networking session was led by Creative Praxis, a Philadelphia-based training organization that has previously run “day of freedom” events for area schools, and worked with youth in Kensington to develop a community safety plan for the neighborhood.

“We’re talking about reimagining Parks and Rec, and reimagining our system and how we work together,” said Nia Eubanks-Dixon, founder of Creative Praxis, who got her start working with Philly youth teaching rec center dance classes. “We know that gun violence has gone up in our community. To be able to talk and express ourselves, we have to be able to feel safe.”

Rec leaders from around the city said they’ve already been finding ways to bring kids in. Curtis “C.J.” Johnson, who works at the Tustin Recreation Center, mentioned the esports lounge that opened about two months ago, with 10 computers and gaming chairs that are full most evenings. It’s one of two installed in city rec centers this year.

What Johnson appreciated was the opportunity for teens to network with likeminded peers: “This was to bridge the gap between communities — kids from West Philly, kids from North Philly — so they can learn from each other.”

City Councilmembers Helen Gym and Isaiah Thomas stopped by to impress on the teens what they saw as the most important takeaway: that if teens advocate for themselves, they can effect change.

“What we’re missing in government and in our budget process is any level of humanity,” Gym said. “What we need to do is not make it about ... budgets. We need to see it through your eyes.”