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REPRINTED FROM THENEXTMAYOR.COMMay 7, 2007 press release, (submitted via e-mail) |
May 7, 2007
CONTACT: Solomon Jones
(215) 370-5681 / (215) 636-9850
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PHILADELPHIA, PA - Mayoral Candidate Chaka Fattah today visited the Lighthouse Family School in Kensington as the first stop of his weeklong "Keeping Our Kids Safe" tour. Throughout the week, Fattah will visit after school programs all over the city to highlight their importance in giving young people a safe place to go.
"After school programs are a vital tool to keeping our young people safe," Fattah said. "Almost half of juvenile crime is committed during the after school hours. Giving every young person a safe place to go will keep them out of trouble and out of harm's way."
The Lighthouse Family School's Youth Center provides programs for children and youth year-round. The Lighthouse After School Program provides tutoring, homework assistance, cultural and recreational activities to young people ages 5 to 13 during between 3 and 6 pm during the school year. The Lighthouse Evening Recreational Program provides sports, health and fitness, arts, cultural and social/recreational, educational activities, leadership development and prevention workshops for children, youth and their families ages 6 to 21 year-round. The Youth Center runs a number of sports leagues for young people and adults, runs a summer camp, and serves as a community center.
"The programs offered here change lives," said Fattah. "When I am Mayor, we will make sure that every young person has access to this type of positive mentoring in a safe environment."
Fattah's after school plan commits an additional $15 million to support the expansion of after school programs throughout the city, ensuring that every young person between the ages of 12 and 16 has access to after school programs. By expanding school-based after school programs and building more community learning centers, every young person in Philadelphia will have a safe place to go after school.
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