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### **Baltimore Police Build Bridges with Area Youth**

February 2024 | Volume 17 | Issue 2

 As gun crimes committed by and against Baltimore’s young people grow, according to a research brief from the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, Baltimore County Police Department (BCoPD) Officer Ky Young has been building bridges between local youth and the police.

Now assigned to BCoPD’s Youth and Community Services Unit, where he is a youth initiative officer and works in the Recidivism Reduction Program, Young was a school resource officer (SRO) in Baltimore, Maryland’s Woodlawn High School for five years. 

In 2023, when he was honored as Baltimore County Public Schools’ SRO of the Year, he was described as a change agent for many in the community, not only for his commitment to mentoring school children but for setting up a nonprofit program to help middle school boys stay on the path to a bright future.  

##### Save Our Young (SOY) Baltimore

***BCoPD Officer Ky Young, fifth from left in the first row, pictured with SOY Building Bridges Bike Ride participants from the BPD, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Maryland Transportation Authority***

Called Save Our Young Baltimore (SOY Baltimore), the program was launched in 2018 to bridge the gap between police and young people while supporting their emotional growth through mentoring, team building, dialogue, and roleplay. It teaches mentees decision-making strategies through personal interaction, as well as a curriculum that promotes social emotional learning, financial literacy, and conflict resolution. 

Two years later, Young also started the Building Bridges Bike Ride, an annual event with two- and seven-mile rides through Baltimore City and Baltimore County for kids and their family members, as well as a 5K walk or run, a rock-climbing wall, face painting, and a youth and law enforcement panel discussing issues in the community.

Asked what inspired these programs, Young said, “Seeing the disconnect between police officers and the community, I believed it was important to build positive relationships between law enforcement and kids.

“Then, in 2020, COVID hit, and with schools closed and the Baltimore Police Athletic League (PAL) center shut down two years earlier, there wasn’t much of anything going on for the kids. We also experienced the death of George Floyd around the same time as the school closures, and I heard that many kids were experiencing mental health challenges.” 

##### Riding Bikes for Mental and Physical Health

“With the lack of school support or resources, plus the emotional impact of COVID-19 isolation, something had to be done. So, in addition to SOY, I started the Bike Ride program, which included biking clinics and donated bikes to get kids together to exercise for their mental and physical health.

“We had 160 riders the first year, 80 kids plus officers and community members of all ages. There were even some little kids pulled in bike trailers by their parents. Baltimore City and County Police, personnel from the Maryland Transportation Authority and the Department of Natural Resources Officers, federal law enforcement colleagues, and teachers and others who work in the community and Baltimore School System participated. Fire and EMS personnel supported the event, as well. The Bike Ride has now snowballed to annual rides with more agencies and communities participating.”

Though the Bike Ride event is for young people of all genders, the SOY Baltimore mentoring program currently supports only boys and young men. In 2020, it partnered with Southwest Academy Middle School to focus on helping boys in sixth to eighth grade. Said Young, “We wanted to support kids before they reach high school because it’s easier to engage with them and we can stay with them [for] a longer time.”

SOY meetings are held after school on Wednesdays, as well as some Saturdays, at Southwest Academy and a local church. Young also partners with another nonprofit called I AM Mentality, a Baltimore organization devoted to helping young men through mentoring and leadership development, in other activities. 

##### Supported by Donations and Santa for A Cause

***A former Woodlawn (MD) High School student – currently enrolled in college as a nursing student – pictured with her father, who supports and volunteers in the community, participating in the Bike Ride.***

Among these activities are some beautification projects at Woodlawn High School in which the basketball team and a local politician pitched in. Paint and other supplies were donated by Home Depot, and Chick-fil-A provided lunch when the kids cleaned up a local road.

Asked how he set up the SOY Baltimore program, Young said “I raised the initial funding myself. There was no Santa Claus at the local mall, so I asked if I could be one and ask for donations with a sign that said Santa for a Cause. I did breakfast with Santa for a Cause, too, and reached out to friends and others through social media, etc.  

“Then, I did research on creating a nonprofit, filed necessary paperwork, and connected with MENTOR Maryland/DC and Maryland Nonprofits, organizations that help people start and manage programs like ours. We have a team now and a board of directors who have backgrounds in workforce development, nonprofits, and education, and a social worker on board. Volunteers and young interns from Woodlawn High School, where I was an SRO, help out, too.” 

##### Positive Results and Plans for the Future

Though SOY Baltimore is a relatively new program, Young says he has already seen positive outcomes. “The kids have changed their perspective on officers and are making more conscious decisions. They really want to lead good lives and overcome their circumstances. 

“One of our first mentees is now in his second year at McDaniel College. We connected through a high school–related incident which could have gone the wrong way. But we fostered a relationship, and he says he sees me as a father figure as well as a mentor and wants to start his own organization to help his community. He helps our other mentees now and wants to be more involved.  

“One of the kids said he was coming because his community is dangerous and he didn’t want to be a victim or be arrested, and that’s why some of the others come, too. Another boy said, ‘Thank you for being 110 percent invested in me when I wasn’t 100 percent invested in me myself.’”

Commenting on the importance of family support, Young added “At a recent meeting, we asked every kid to bring in their parents or whoever their support system was. If the family isn’t on board, that’s a real challenge. It has to be a collaborative effort. 

“The families are all grateful for SOY Baltimore, and say they want more of the program. So, I am working to expand the reach to other kids, including girls, and hope to start a summer program, too. And I would be glad to help any other agency or organization that wants to do something similar – I’d be glad to see SOY or programs like it in other cities.”

***Photos courtesy of the Baltimore County Police Department.***

Faye C. ElkinsSr. Technical WriterCOPS Office

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