Mayor Brandon M. Scott recently wrapped up the city's 2025 summer initiative, aimed at keeping Baltimore's youth engaged and out of trouble, details of which were put forth in a press release. Scott's "Outside in '25" strategy provided a blend of events, opportunities, and resources tailored to support fun and secure environments for young people after school hours and during summer months, particularly on weekends with high youth activity.
According to the Baltimore City Mayor's Office, which focused less on law enforcement and more on community-based safety initiatives, yielded significant results. By increasing ground-level safety engagements and partnerships with organizations like For My Kidz and Redesigning Minds, Baltimore saw a decrease in youth homicide and aggravated assault victimizations, though there was a slight uptick in nonfatal youth shootings. The intervention teams, playing the role of a bridge to various services, had over 977 positive interactions with local youth from April to September.
The Mayor highlighted the various programs that saw high levels of participation among the city's younger residents. This included the Spring Break TeenFest, with 1,400 attendees, and youth employment through the YouthWorks program, which made 8,604 job offers. In addition to employment and recreation, the city distributed essential supplies, with over 2,138 backpacks, 800 hygiene kits, and provided 4,237 meals at the Back to School Event, as indicated in the press release. These efforts were part of a larger comprehensive summer engagement plan that sought to enrich the experiences of young individuals in Baltimore.
Increased investments in youth engagement also saw attendance swell at seven local recreation centers, which offered late-night programming designed for teens and young adults. Each center stayed open until 11 pm on Friday and Saturday nights, over the summer weeks, offering an alternative space for the young to gather, socialize, and engage in positive activities.
