PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia police officers are practicing their jump shots as they prepare to hoop it up with members of the community at a basketball tournament this weekend.
Pushing Progress Philly (P3) will host the tournament on Saturday at Belfield Recreation Center in East Germantown, along with the Civic Coalition to Save Lives — a partnership of more than 90 businesses, community organizations and civic groups.
Jalil Meekins, P3’s outreach manager, says they won’t only be playing basketball. The day also features an open discussion about gun violence, with a goal to foster better communication between young men and police.
“We noticed that there was a sort of a gap in communication in the way that they interact with each other,” said Meekins, “so we wanted to see if we can foster just good healthy relationships between law enforcement and the population that we're serving.”
P3 works with young men between the ages of 18 and 34, who are at the highest risk for gun violence in the city.
“We have a young man, he's 21 years old. He's been shot 18 times, on two different occasions, and some of the conversations that we have with these young men [are about] trying to remove any barrier in your life that may stop them from getting to the next level or being productive citizens,” Meekins said.
The tournament is just one of many anti-violence initiatives planned for this summer, as the city often sees a spike in gun violence during the season. Meekins, who is also with the Nicetown Community Development Corporation, says they will collaborate with state Sen. Art Hayward’s Safe Summer Initiative.
“Last year, it brought violent crimes down in the northwest by 31%,” he said. “By doing these collective initiatives, I believe that we're able to get some of the violence down, and also offer more supportive services, because when you take something away from these young men, you’ve got to give them something.”
Meekins says P3 also plans to hold a community give-back event and peace walk in August. Saturday’s basketball tournament will run from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.