In 2023, our kids need safe spaces to play

The start of a new year is a time to reflect on what we want to change and do better in the coming year. For many of Chicago’s kids, it’s simple: All they want for 2023 is more safe places to play.

Research showsthat child’s play is never just play — it’s a rich experience that leads to brain growth, the development of creative problem-solving skills, improved language abilities and a deeper understanding of the world. In many of Chicago’s more affluent communities, kids enjoy an abundance of safe places to engage in carefree play — and reap the associated benefits.

But the research also shows that life for kids in some Chicago communities is not so carefree. Chicago’s South and West Side neighborhoods, in particular, are disproportionately hurt by violent crime and gun-related crimes. Children are sometimes the victims of this violence: In 2022, 68 youth under the age of 18 were killed in Chicago, and several hundred were shot.

And even when they are not the direct victims of gun violence, they are dramatically impacted. The 2022 Voices of Child Health in Chicago survey from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital found that children who live on the South Side were more than three times more likely to hear gunshots when at home than North Side children.

In other words, the kids who most need the outlet of carefree and safe places to play can’t access them because open public space is not always safe and public institutions with gyms, such as park district or school buildings, aren’t always available to the public, leaving them to sit empty for much of the time.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s 2020 Comprehensive Plan to Reduce Violence in Chicago outlines the need to “reclaim public places as safe spaces within communities” by “engaging each other toward rebuilding a sense of community and cohesion.” We couldn’t agree more.

Partnerships to make more space

During the worst part of the COVID-19 pandemic, even public outdoor spaces were off limits, which severely affected the mental and physical health of youth. It became even clearer to us, in the months afterward, that our kids need and should have access to more safe spaces, outdoor and indoor. Our city has hundreds of organizations working with youth who need space to do programming.

Hoops in the Hood, organized by Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Chicago and community partners, is one program that ticks all of these boxes. Hoops in the Hood brings together kids from various communities to play weekly basketball games, leading up to a championship tournament in August. It’s about more than kids trying to perfect a jump shot; it’s about learning to resolve conflicts. It’s about learning to create new alliances within the community and building confidence. It’s about working with neighbors toward a common goal — and, above all, about giving kids a safe place where they can have fun.

The program has served more than 26,000 youth in 15 years, and it’s growing quickly. This past summer — the first in-person year since the pandemic began — Hoops in the Hood served 618 youth at 103 events.

In 2023, we need more support and more programs like Hoops in the Hood, year-round, inside and outside. To make it happen, we need public institutions to be even better partners by making indoor and outdoor spaces accessible, more available and free so that program funding can focus on youth, not on facility rental costs.

Let’s listen to Chicago’s kids. All they’re asking for is the opportunity to play, build strong relationships in their communities and just be kids. This approach would save lives — and that’s something that should be on every Chicagoan’s wish list for 2023.

Meghan Harte is the executive director of LISC Chicago, the local office of a national community development finance institution.

This op-ed was also signed by Mark Thornton, BUILD; Alex Anaya, ABC-Pilsen; Antoine Dobine, Hands Around the Hundreds; James Rudyk, Northwest Center; Damien Morris, Breakthrough Urban Ministries; Benny Estrada, New Life Centers; Pastor Victoria C. Brady, Annie B. Jones Civic Arts Center; Calvin Moore, Teamwork Englewood; Erica Lehr, UCAN Chicago; Oscar Contreras, Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council; Vince Carter, Project Education Plus; Courtney Holmon, The ARK of St. Sabina; and Carlil Pittman, GoodKids MadCity-Englewood.

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