Dodging youth violence? Late night rec center events draw in hundreds of teens

The beats slammed throughout the gym at the Hirsch Recreation Center. The sound could have drowned out a fire alarm.

DJ Congo, 16, who claims the title Ohio's youngest innovative DJ, stood between twin speakers cueing up the tracks.

This was 513 After Dark, a club night at the recreation center and part of this summer's Rec @ Nite program that would run until 11 p.m., a few hours later than the center normally stays open.

The city expanded the night hours on Saturdays for the first time this summer in an effort to keep kids off the streets and out of trouble. The adults involved are convinced it's working.

The 50 or so teens at the gym that night on June 29 bounced together, talking to their friends, their young ears seemingly immune to the wall-crumbling bass in the air.

A few girls gathered and executed a TikTok dance in unison. It lasted for four bars before the group evaporated. A girl sprinted to a group of boys and pulled one onto the dance floor. He smiled but shrugged her off.

Late night rec center action draws hundreds

Hundreds of teens have been coming out to Saturday Rec @ Nite events, said Brandi Sanders, the division manager of operations at the Cincinnati Recreation Commission. She oversees recreation centers in the city. Two are hosting the extended hours: the Hirsch Recreation Center in Avondale and the Lincoln Recreation Center in West End.

Sanders said the nights have been successful at drawing kids, but noted the demographic of kids is leaning younger. It's also too early to see the full impact of the program. Since this is a pilot program, the Cincinnati Recreation Commission is working with the police and city officials to review whether the program was successful and any effects it will have on teen crime reduction.

The locations were chosen, in part, because police data show these neighborhoods are struggling with juvenile crime. Sanders said two officers were assigned to the Hirsch Center for the night, but there were at least six officers in uniform milling around.

"The beat cops just come here because there's nothing happening at the corners they usually have to keep an eye on," Sanders said.

A food truck was parked in the lot on this particular Saturday night. A 100.3 FM radio station tent was set up near the door. In the center's basement, two barbers cut and styled hair for kids as their friends sat nearby playing Fortnite and other video games.

Sanders said that when grown-ups think of a safe space, they think of physical security, but that's not how it works for kids and teens.

"For a kid, a safe space is, 'What adult can I go to who is going to be consistent,'" she said. Stability comes before all else.

She hopes to expand the program next year. The Rec @ Nite events alternate each Saturday between West End and Avondale. But she said the kids would like them to be at both locations every week.

Preteens show up for rec center's after hours events

While the events are promoted for 12 to 17 year olds, the organizers learned this summer that younger kids will show up and lie about their age. Sanders said the rec center staff does not turn them away because they often need something to eat and a safe place to be, too.

Re'ihana Shelton, 12, and Jasmine Mixon, 14, were in the same age range as most of the kids at Hirsch that night. Few teens older than 15 showed up. The girls had come from Downtown to meet up with friends. They both said the event was fun but couldn't agree about whether it would keep kids out of trouble and reduce the number of juvenile shootings.

"Kids are getting shot?" the younger girl asked.

"What happened to Dominic," the other reminded her.

"Oh," other girl nodded.

They didn't say more. It's unclear who they were referring to, but 11-year-old Dominic Davis was killed in a drive-by last fall .

Activities let kids 'find their voice' without parents involved

As the first hour of the night ticked by, more and more kids started dancing. A group of teen boys huddled together against a wall but then all put their arms over each other shoulders in a circle rocking to the sounds. When the beat dropped, the group blew apart.

DJ Congo brought a mic into the crowd and danced with the other kids. He pulled some out of the crowd to dance with him or show off their moves.

Nearly all the adults in the building were staff and police. They try to deter parents from attending with their kids. Cincinnati's director of recreation, Daniel Betts, has been attending all the Rec @ Nite events. He posed with the kids for selfies, danced and chatted with the teens.

"We allow them to find their voice. Sometimes it's a very loud voice," he joked.

Betts said he is forming plans to keep the program going past this summer and to expand it. He said the turnout been amazing with 180 kids showing up to Lincoln for the June 22 event, and another 107 at Hirsch that same night. It's the job of the adults in the community to help send kids down a positive path, he said.

"A caring adult is what it takes," Betts said. "We're the village."

Trayon Bennett, 15, Taylor Harper, 14, and Kamorion Varner, 15, have been coming to most of the Rec @ Nite events at Hirsch. Bennett said they all play sports and would come to the center even if it weren't a special event.

The boys said that events even attract some of their peers who get into trouble. A week earlier, a group of those kids were there, the kids said, but the police officers kept everything under control.

The boys didn't have much else to say about the violence or the city's efforts to curb it. They blamed kids in gangs and said they were not those kids.

As for club night, they said, "It's kind of fun," then wandered back into the gym and resumed their dancing.

Rec @ Nite schedule

• July 20 : Laurel Park Big 3 Basketball at Hirsch Recreation Center.
• July 27 : Silent Disc-Glo at Hirsch Recreation Center.
• Aug. 3 : 513 After Dark at Lincoln Recreation Center.
• Aug. 10 : Back to School Pool Party at Lincoln Recreation Center.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Dodging youth violence? Late night rec center events draw in hundreds of teens