“World's Most Complete Neighborpedia”
Sponsor a Community — What is Localism? | Register or Sign In
Explore:   What's happening in your neck of the woods?
Home "Kicking" Crime and Drug out of Local Comm...

"Kicking" Crime and Drug out of Local Communities

Last night I caught a clip on the news about a local organization called, Soccer in the Streets. The organization is a nationwide non-profit group based in Atlanta.

The group's mission is; "To teach less advantaged kids to make positive choices in life so as to better themselves, their families and communities through soccer."

The group's vision is:

  • Soccer In The Streets is committed to putting a soccer ball within reach of every less advantaged child and changing lives through soccer, making it a true sport for all regardless of ethnic or economic background.
  • Soccer In The Streets will promote education, positive values and personal responsibility, and will kick drugs and crime out of distressed communities by teaching "at-risk" kids and their families how to live a more positive life through soccer.
  • Soccer In The Streets will benefit the sport of soccer by developing comprehensive and inclusive programs (Urban Soccer Model) that support total integration and representation of the diversity of each community.

    • The clip on the news last night talked about how a local police department (I didn't catch the name and couldn't discover it in my research) has teamed up with Soccer in the Streets. Apparently, the community in the area is heavily Hispanic and they do not trust the police (this was reported)...the police in an effort to gain trust as well as be a positive influence have teamed up with Soccer in the Streets. The department has teamed up with a new concept called Street-Box. The program was designed specifically for inner city kids...using unused tennis courts and turning them into street-boxes, two side-by-side tennis courts, enclosed with permanent goals and an all weather playing surface.

    It was good seeing something like this on the news. It is good to know that there are organizations like this that exist. It is good to know that the police department is taking an active role...as they should..."to protect and to serve"...I view their participation in a program like this as doing both, protecting these kids from violence in the neighborhood and serving the community by being a friend, teacher, and mentor to the youth of these communities. What a great thing!

    Posted Friday Oct 26