INDIANAPOLIS — The summer will be over before we know it, but organizations across the city continue their work to provide kids with safe spaces.
On Wednesday, teens packed Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana for the second-to-last "Safe Summer Kickback."
Since the kickbacks began, "Let Them Talk" has reached nearly 200 kids, from practicing TikTok dance moves to playing games. Kids tell WRTV that small, intimate conversations make them feel safe and not judged.
"It's very important because I feel like nowadays, kids don't have a safe place to go to and express their feelings and hang around kids our age they can understand more," Tairie Bass, a 12-year-old attending Safe Summers Kickback, said.
“I hope that we just learn not to use violence all the time. We should never use violence; communication is the number one priority,” said Camille Morgan, a 13-year-old attending Safe Summers Kickback. "We're all young, we still have a lot of time to live, and we shouldn't die this young."
Anthony Battle, co-founder of "Let Them Talk" said conflict resolution was a major goal this summer.
Battle said although their results may be overlooked by other incidents, it doesn't minimize their efforts.
"It fuels my energy to keep going. We'll continue to have the conversations, we'll continue to have these kickback sessions where they can be themselves and explore, and hopefully, those kids that don't feel like they have anything but the streets, will start hearing and want to come and learn," he said.
The last Safe Summer Kickback session will be a skate party at Roller Cave, on Thursday, July 18 from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. for ages 12 to 17.
They will close the summer with a Sneaker Ball on Saturday, July 27 at Municipal Gardens Family Center from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. for ages 12 to 17.
