By MARRIANE SALZA
The Lynn Parks and Recreation Department and the Lynn Police Department, in sponsorship with Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, are once again opening the Summer Lynn Teen Drop-In Center, a program running through Aug. 25, for youth, ages 13-18.
Every Friday night, from 6 to 9 p.m., teens can enjoy free music and guest speakers, play sports, and participate in recreational, social, and cultural activities at the Lynn Vocational and Technical Institute fieldhouse. The summer teen center also provides free water and pizza from Lido Café to attendees.
“It’s important to offer kids a safe haven from violence, and a place where they can congregate and have fun,” said Police Lt. Peter Holey. “It lets them know we care as a police department and as a community.
“It’s the best police activity we partake in as a police department. It lets the kids see us in a different light. They’re all great kids. They tease us; we tease them.”
For 11 years the teen center has been providing opportunities for teens, serving more than 1,200 youth per year. When the City of Lynn and the Lynn Police Department received the Senator Charles E. Shannon, Jr., Community Safety Initiative grant in 2006, summer jobs were provided for at-risk teens; resulting in a three-month period in the summer with no gang-related stabbings or shootings.
“Thanks to the Shannon grant and other work done by the Police Department and the community, gang violence has been down over the past 11 years. It’s been a team effort,” said Holey. “North Shore Community College did a study and said that Lynn violence is down 80 percent. It’s amazing. It’s been a tremendous success.”
The Police Department provides detail officers to scan individuals with a metal detector, search bags, and interact with teens in a non-confrontational setting to ensure no weapons or contraband come into the facility.
“We haven’t had one complaint about being searched in 11 years. I think the kids want to know they’re safe and in an environment where there is light, adult supervision,” said Holey, who has seen generations of siblings participate.
The only conflict Holey can recall in over a decade was an argument over a basketball game.
“This is our way of saying we care about you to the kids. We want you to have a safe place to go this summer,” he said. “We’d like to have as many kids as we can off the street and in the teen center.”
