A free, year-round youth program that has anchored Englewood families for more than a decade has been pushed from its longtime home at 344 W. 75th Street after two shootings outside the center. Founder Latanya Johnson has relocated roughly 43 children about a mile away to Ogden Park. Still, the group no longer has its own indoor space and staff say kids are spending much of the summer outside in the heat. Johnson says the program’s long-term future is on shaky ground without a new, permanent home.
According to FOX 32 Chicago, Latanya and the Youth of Englewood has operated for 13 years, offering recreation, mentorship, meals and field trips to children ages 5 and up. The station reports that Chicago police said a May 9 shooting outside the building left one man dead and two others seriously injured. Johnson described the aftermath as a "crime scene" that made kids reluctant to come back through those doors.
Relocation to Ogden Park
The program has shifted its activities to a facility listed by the Chicago Park District, which shows an address at 6500 S. Racine Ave. Organizers say the move has meant programming is largely outdoors because the nonprofit currently lacks an indoor room to gather, turning what was once a dedicated center into a patchwork of park space.
Kids and Families React
Participants told FOX 32 Chicago they were sad to walk away from the old space and worried about what comes next. Thirteen-year-old Jamilah Anderson said, "It’s kind of sad, but it seems like we probably do need to move," and 10-year-old Morgan Davis said learning about the shooting "made me feel kind of scared." For kids who thought of the center as a second home, the sudden uprooting has been a jarring lesson in how quickly violence can rearrange their lives.
What Comes Next
Johnson told the station she hopes for help finding a new indoor site and warned that without one "these kids are left out." She said about 43 children rely on the program while their parents work, and organizers are appealing to neighbors, nonprofits and officials for assistance to secure a permanent home.
The move underscores how violence can derail community services for children during the summer and leaves organizers racing the clock to lock in an indoor base before school starts again.
