PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Two new Community Evening Resource Centers opened Monday night, giving Philadelphia four such locations to help keep children and teens safe and active in the evening.
Those centers are designed to give young people a safe place to congregate between the hours of 7 p.m. and 2 a.m.
The centers are:
- The Juvenile Justice Center, at the corner of East Coulter and Greene streets in Germantown.
- IDAAY (Institute for the Development of African American Youth), at the corner of North Broad and West Dauphin streets in North Philadelphia.
- Dixon House at Greater Philadelphia Community Alliance, at the corner of South 20th and Hoffman streets in West Passyunk.
- Community of Compassion, Inc. at the corner of South 62nd Street and Cedar Avenue in Cobbs Creek.
“They tell us it’s a place to hang out, it’s a safe place for them to come — they get homework help, and they don’t have to just sit at home,” said Terrilynn Donnell, executive director of Community of Compassion.
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The center offers trauma-informed care, general counseling and homework help, and one of their main focuses is conflict resolution, Donnell said.
Recently, they were able to prevent a violent fight between two groups of girls by having an open discussion with them and their parents.
“By the end of the discussion, the girls said they felt like they were heard, like somebody cared, and they each got to feel the hurt of the other girl,” Donnell said.
While the centers are intended to keep children and teens occupied during night hours, most leave before 2 a.m.
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Regardless of how long individuals stay, Donnell feels it is a good outlet for those who don’t really have things to do at home.
“It helps to limit the violence — hopefully eliminate the violence, but at least limit it,” Donnell said.
The center offers many programs like photography, and will soon roll out a drone soccer initiative.