LOS ANGELES — Mayor Eric Garcetti officially kicked off the 10th consecutive year of Summer Night Lights (SNL), a landmark program that keeps parks and recreation centers open late to provide young people and families with safe, fun gathering spaces during the summer months.
The Summer Night Lights program is currently underway with programs available from 7 p.m.-11 p.m. until -August 5 and resuming August 11-August 25. Activities have ranged from healthy cooking classess, sports leagues to dance and art workshops.
“Every family in Los Angeles deserves safe places to spend time together, have fun with their neighbors, find new opportunities and resources, and create strong relationships with the people who serve them,” said Mayor Garcetti. “Summer Night Lights has made all of that possible for countless Angelenos over an incredible decade of success, and created a model for building stronger communities in cities across America.”
SNL is a signature initiative of the Mayor’s Office of Gang Reduction & Youth Development (GRYD) — offering free food and activities at 32 City parks, and connecting young people and families with job opportunities and other resources. The program also aims to help reduce crime and violence during the summer months.
In 2007, then-Councilmember Garcetti founded ‘At the Park After Dark’ in response to a fatal shooting near a local park. The following year the program was expanded across the City as Summer Night Lights.
Mayor Garcetti has expanded GRYD services, bringing both prevention and intervention work to every GRYD zone for the first time. A 2016 evaluation report found that 83.4% of GRYD clients decreased their risk of gang joining overall; and a new study by researchers at Cal State L.A. and UCLA found that GRYD intervention work prevented 185 gang-related violent crimes across L.A. over a two-year period — including an estimated 10 fewer homicides,175 fewer aggravated assaults, and 43.2 percent fewer gang retaliations.
For more information, visit http://grydfoundation.org/programs/summer-night-lights/.