More than 1 million people participated in about 10,000 different events across the country as part of the Lights On Afterschool initiative on Thursday. The program emphasizes the importance of having a place where kids can go after school to be safe, supervised and engaged.
At Science Leadership Academy Middle School in West Philly, activities director Kat Kushin arranged a cooking class for students and parents.
“Imagine if families across the city or the commonwealth didn't have places where their kids could go after school, where they can't finish out the work day, and they have to come home and take care of their children’s needs,” he said. “Or, if they don't have those opportunities, the kids are left unsupervised after school.”
According to a recent report by the organization Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, the hours immediately following school are prime time for juvenile crime. FBI data shows that most see spikes in crime between 2 and 6 p.m.
The report suggests after-school programs are one of the best crime-prevention strategies among adolescents and an effective way to guide them toward success.
Ennis echoed that a lack of access to programming is a key factor that contributes to risky situations kids may participate in, creating systemic issues.
“Part of this Lights On Afterschool event is to highlight how important this is as a safety net for our workforce and working families,” he added. “It's really a failure of our ability as a society to serve those families and to give children enough opportunities after school that leads to these unfortunate problems.”