Charlie Baker touts growth of ‘Summer Nights’ program to engage at-risk youth
Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito headed to Ryan Playground in Mattapan Tuesday afternoon, surrounded by children and teens shooting hoops, to tout the success of their free DCR “Summer Nights” program for at-risk youth.
“This program has grown dramatically over the course of the past five or six years because it works,” Baker said. “This year, I think we’re talking about 55 programs in about 25 communities around the Commonwealth and over a million and a half dollars in state money supporting local organizations and kids and families.”
The program, which began in 2015, grew out of a series of conversations in which Baker and others agreed that “there just isn’t enough stuff for kids to do after hours on the weekends, and we need to put together some programming to see if we can solve that problem,” he said.
The first year of the program consisted of four programs only in Boston, Baker said, but has since grown to what it is today, covering cities including Lowell, Springfield, Brockton and Worcester.
Addressing the children in the audience, he apologized for the “terrible, awful rotten crummy year” many of them have had due to the pandemic. “I hope these programs and other opportunities that are made available over the course of the summer give you a chance to get back some of the joy and some of the fun that comes with being young,” he added.
“As a mother of two teenagers, I worry a great deal about their safety and wellbeing, and if they’re bored, I’m really worried,” Polito added. “This solves a lot of problems for parents, for our community leaders, and for our kids, because it’s safe and healthy, and more so it’s fun and engaging.”
According to the DCR website, Summer Nights programs include movie nights, basketball camps, game nights, arts and crafts, swimming and more.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3xEb7Ds
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