NORFOLK, Va. - Two Boys & Girls Clubs are opening this week in an effort to help give students activities after schools.
The first opens Monday at the Young Terrace Community Center.
A second will open Tuesday in Grandy Village.
"I think this is a good thing for us out here because this area need something like this," said Henry Rawls, the Young Terrace Club Director.
Rawls said the program could accomadate about 80 students to start and will offer a variety of activities with a focus on academics.
"The main thing is getting them off the street and giving them a safe place to come," said Rawls.
That safe space is opening in the same building where the city offered an after school program for decades, but it closed during the pandemic and did not reopen.
During that time, the area, like many in Hampton Roads, has seen its share of gun violence, including a shooting in fall 2021 that killed three women and injured two more.
"I think this is a great gateway to address some of the violence that's gone on in the community. Is it going to solve it all? Absolutely not. That's a collective impact approach," said Kim Thomas, chief community engagement officer for Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
The organizers hope this is just a start at impacting young people's lives.
"Whether it's academics, whether it's a healthy lifestyle, it's really preparing for their next step, we have a 100-percent graduation rate here at Boys & Girls Club," said Kevin Will, the president & CEO of Boys & Girls Club of Southeast Virginia.
For more information on how to sign-up, visit here.
