« Build a Recreation Center

Historically, teenagers and young adults account for the majority of crimes in America. The high population of youth in Takoma Park, the low amount of park space per capita in the City and the insufficient number of youth programs all result in too much free time for our youth.

One common observation made throughout the Takoma Park community is the need for more facilities and activities for the youth of our City. Citizens, business owners, civic advocates and government officials have all recognized the need for more support services for our City's youth.

The findings of the Public Safety and Takoma 2010 focus groups support the recommendations of the Recreation Committee. A recreation facility near the geographic center of Takoma Park would unquestionably benefit our community.

Although a center limited to teen activities would be ideal, we recommend a recreation center open to all age groups within the City. Given the limited resources available to the City, at this time, it seems that a multi-use center is the responsible answer.

Priorities should be set for the center that gives preference to the community's young people. The center can be a year-round location where teenagers can be occupied through supervised recreation during the hours of 3-to-10 p.m. This is the critical period of the day during which more than 75 percent of all teenage crimes are committed.

In addition to recreational services, the center should provide educational programs that will have a constructive and permanent influence on the future conduct of our children. Teenagers will acquire skills to help them grow into responsible, productive adults.

A recreation center is an essential component in the implementation of Community Oriented Policing. It provides the Police with an important resource for preventing crime. With this facility and a government-wide focus on crime prevention, the Police will be able to channel problem young people into positive programs and the community will be able to quickly develop programs that address specific problem areas.

During school hours, preschool, adult and senior programs could occupy the recreation center. With the aging of the American population, our community will include many more senior citizens. This facility could address the needs of this important group.

Ideally, many of the programs would eventually help to narrow the generation gap between teenagers and seniors. For example, seniors could be recruited to serve as mentors for teens, and in turn teens could be recruited to run errands or assist with chores for seniors.

It is easy to envision a multitude of programs that require development of a recreation center, such as:

• Computer classes similar to the program established by AmeriCore at the Essex House Apartments. This highly beneficial and popular program is currently resource constrained.
• Job training programs that offer skill development opportunities.
• Employment support services such as resume writing assistance and job interview training.
• Immigrant assistance programs, such as English as a second language training and cultural adaptation courses.
• One-on-one tutoring of teenage students by adult mentors, including seniors serving as mentors.
• Recreational programs such as arts & crafts, aerobics, dance, chess and other games that are open to the community, at large.

This mix of recreation, education, and personal growth will expand the significant work already done in Takoma Park. The recreation center would remove some of the current resource problems and facilitate development of new programs.

The center could house our Recreation Department, easing the overcrowding at the Municipal Center. Hopefully, the center could be expanded in the future to include a gymnasium.

It is important to note that services offered by Takoma Park are used by both our residents and those from surrounding communities. Neighbors from Silver Spring, the District of Columbia, Langley Park and many other surrounding jurisdictions come to our City for recreation opportunities. This presents a dilemma for Takoma Park. Our City is a small urban municipality with limited funding sources, yet as a community in one of the largest urban areas in the nation, Takoma Park serves a population far greater than those who reside just within our boundaries.

Poverty, crime, and addiction have no boundaries. Thus, neither should solutions to these problems. Positive and viable solutions are the responsibility of good government and caring communities. Takoma Park citizens do not shirk from responsibility, we seize opportunities.

Our city serves a very diverse group of residents and neighbors, including children, teens and seniors; low-income to well-off, immigrants, people with disabilities, homeowners and apartment dwellers. Each of these populations requires its own programming to meet its needs.

Recreation is not an optional service, but a vital link to the health and safety of our communities. "As cities continue to witness rising crime and urban distress, it is becoming increasingly clear that support for parks and recreation is not a luxury - it is an investment in our own security and health and the stability of our cities."

At the time this report was written statistics from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention estimated the cost of keeping a teenager in detention for one year as $29,600. The costs are now over $40,000 in many jurisdictions. And, these figures do not take into account the amount expended on the victims of crime who, too often, are our senior citizens.

A one time investment for a facility in Takoma Park that can provide educational and growth oriented recreation will surely mean that future expenditures to warehouse our youth will be reduced.