Teamwork Creates a Safe Haven for Englewood's Youth

By Joseph White / Photos by Joseph White on Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Address: Teamwork Englewood, 945 W 69th Street, Chicago, IL 60621

At 6:30 on a Friday evening in late August at a Southside Salvation Army, coach Daryl Bell is sitting in the bleachers of the large gymnasium as a hotly-contested game between teenage boys in its final minutes is playing out on the floor. Bell calls timeout and substitutes three new players onto the court.

“Josh there just graduated from high school,” Bell says, pointing to one of the players subbing in. “They said he wasn’t going to graduate, but he did. I know this program helped.”

Bell is referring to Teamwork Englewood’s weekly basketball games and track meets, part of a community initiative aimed at reducing gang activity in Englewood through free, structured athletics. About to enter its third year, the program regularly draws more than 60 teens – and about 50 spectators – to the Salvation Army on 945 W. 69th Street. The program’s architect, Rev. Rodney Walker, sees the weekly athletic happenings as a safe haven where local boys and girls aged 11 to 18 can come participate in healthy activities, be exposed to positive role models, and socialize with other kids. And do so free from the influence of gangs.

“The idea evolved out of our health and fitness strategies,” Walker says. “We started with basketball then began running track as well, and also recruiting people that grew up in the neighborhood and are now in college to come in and be peer leaders. Our goals are to get 100 families involved, bring in more college kids and pair them up one-on-one with the kids as peer leaders, and expand to four other gyms in Englewood.”

Walker’s hopes for expansion parallel the growing community support for the program. Friday nights at the Salvation Army have developed into something of a neighborhood event, with more and more kids taking part in the sports while their families increasingly fill the gymnasium.

“The community is embracing it.” Bell says. “Every Friday you see the same parents coming here to watch their kids.”
Bell believes much of the program’s success is a result of limited options. For many of Englewood’s young residents, the alternatives to a night playing basketball or running track are much less positive and much more dangerous. Bell knows that by providing a safe place to meet on Friday nights, he has the opportunity to positively influence the lives of the neighborhood’s youth.

“I’m more of a coach/mentor,” Bell said. “A lot of these kids are lacking father figures, and they come to me with non-sports problems all the time. They know I will listen and try to help.”

Second-year peer leader Ryan Harris, 20, got involved because “Englewood is a neighborhood without access. We’re trying to expand (the participants’) horizons and show them how to carry themselves.”

While Harris doesn’t see himself as a role model, it’s clear many of the program’s teens look up to him for advice and leadership.

“I encourage the kids to stay in shape, to be themselves, and to steer clear of the wrong crowd,” he says. “I was here last summer, and next summer I’ll be back to do it again.”

The message of positive involvement has also reached many of the program’s young athletes. “I want to go to Syracuse,” says Nayshawn Edwards, 16, “but when I come back in the summer I want to be a peer leader and help tutor.” He adds that Walker and Bell are “keeping a lot of people off the streets and getting them involved in active situations.”

“It is a symbol to be positive,” says Trey, a 16-year-old basketball player who declined to give his last name. “People around the neighborhood have been talking about it because it is keeping people off the streets.

“I’ve been participating all summer. And if it happens every summer, I’ll be there.”