City of Atlanta leaders invest in summer programs to curb youth crime

“We’ve opened more of our At-Promise Centers. We’ve partnered with more of our nonprofits,” Dickens said.

Dickens, alongside Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Bryan Johnson and other city officials, promoted this year’s summer lineup of programs and community hubs where young Atlantans can spend their summer days without safety concerns.

Credit: NATRICE MILLER

Credit: NATRICE MILLER

This year’s lineup of activities includes free swimming access at indoor and outdoor pools, Popsicles in Parks around the city and the annual return of Camp Best Friends, originally launched by Mayor Maynard Jackson as a safe place for children in 1981 following the murders of at least 28 Atlanta children, adolescents and adults.

The programming is part of Dickens’ broader “Year of the Youth” initiative, which seeks to make Atlanta the best place in the United States to raise a child, and attempts to take a “whole-of-government” approach to child safety through both policing and non-policing efforts.

“Our administration has always known that when we brought youth crime down, overall crime would come down,” the first-term mayor said. “A big part of that is just giving our young people something to do.”

The Department of Parks and Recreation will offer free summer meals for children under age 18, in nearly 50 locations across the city. The Mayor’s Office of Violence Reduction is also launching the Supporting Youth Initiative, a grant program to provide help through mentorship and coaching for youth at high risk of gun violence.

Johnson said school districts can’t do the work to care for children alone and that partnering with the City of Atlanta will allow students greater access to gyms, tennis courts and golf courses this summer, leveraging shared facilities.

“Seventy-five percent of a child’s K-12 life is spent outside of school,” Johnson said. “It is what happens within the community that really makes a significant difference.”

Dickens said the $975 million Fiscal Year 2026 general fund budget, approved by the City Council Monday, includes full-funding for summer youth programming, ensuring programs are supported for the years to come.

“What we want to do is keep (youth) busy,” Dickens said. “The challenge is to make sure that everyone knows about all of these opportunities that are free or low-cost and to make sure that parents who say they don’t know what to do with their child bring them to us.”