BALTIMORE, MD (Tuesday, April 15, 2025) - Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced plans to activate ground-level youth safety engagement in high foot traffic areas effective immediately.

In preparation for spring break and in advance of the Scott Administration's holistic summer youth engagement strategy, the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) has begun mobilizing community violence intervention partners to conduct ground-level outreach where young people are likely to congregate.

As a precursor to full activation, youth engagement teams were deployed the last two weekends to begin establishing a presence in core areas.

"It's on all of us to ensure our young people are safe and avoid behaviors that put themselves and others in danger," said Mayor Scott. "As we approach the warmer months, it is imperative that we put boots on the ground and support Baltimore's young people in our collective effort to prioritize their safety. We know we also have to provide Baltimore's youth with opportunities to enjoy their time off of school in safe, engaging environments. This Spring Break, we also have a schedule full of programming designed specifically with this in mind, all leading up to Teen Fest this coming Saturday."

Community partners will continue to be active Friday and Saturday nights, as well as Sunday nights on holiday weekends, from now through the end of summer. Staff will emphasize relationship building with young people, proactive engagement with young people to de-escalate conflicts and prevent potential violence, and serve as a resource to help connect youth with resources as needed.

New for this year, City leadership has forged a partnership with B-360, a non-profit organization that focuses on dirt bike culture to empower Baltimore youth and get them interested in STEM education. Last month B-360 held a ribbon-cutting event for its first brick-and-mortar location at Harborplace in downtown Baltimore. The space will be a youth and teen center where young people can learn transferable skills while receiving tutoring services. During the weekend, the City in partnership with outreach community partners, will utilize the space as a Youth Connection Center to convene and reconnect youth that need resources and additional support.

The following partners are being mobilized as part of this effort:

• For My Kidz;
• Redesigning Minds;
• The Movement Team;
• The PEACE Team.

This activation is a continuation of the City's Summer Youth Engagement Strategy activated summer 2023 that combined non-traditional curfew engagement with programming opportunities for young people to enjoy themselves in safe environments.

As part of this coordinated effort, the Mayor's Office and the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks (BCRP) have stood up 27 separate spring break camp opportunities throughout Baltimore with approximately 630 youth registered and are mobilizing BCRPs Rec on the Run mobile recreation unit in communities with limited access to recreational facilities.

Additionally, the City will be holding a series of events to keep Baltimore's young people engaged throughout the week ending in a special Spring Break Teen Fest event on Saturday, April 19, 2025, in Druid Hill Park.

Correlated with the strategy's activation last summer, youth shooting victimizations decreased 66 percent and aggravated assault victimizations dropped 31 percent in 2024.

Mayor Scott will release the full 2025 summer youth engagement strategy in the coming weeks.