One of the challenges for the youth of Baltimore is getting to and from school every day. It’s been years since the Baltimore City School system stopped using traditional yellow buses to transport middle and High School students. That means, each day about 33,000 students can either walk or use public transportation. And, as WYPR’s Mary Rose Madden reports, it can be a harrowing journey.
In far too many Baltimore neighborhoods, the passage from child’s play to the world of work may have serious consequences. For some, young people it means trading basketball and riding bikes for a potentially deadlier game. In this installment of our series, “Growing Up Baltimore,” WYPR’s Sunni Khalid sat down with a group of young drug dealers.
So far this year, twelve of Baltimore’s 201 homicide victims have been under 18. The youngest was fourteen. 41 juveniles suffered non-fatal shootings. More than 6,000 young people have been arrested this year. People ask what’s behind this epidemic of youth violence? And, parents, police, educators, and kids as well, ask “who’s to blame?” As part of our series, Growing Up Baltimore, producer Mary Rose Madden prepared this.
For more than 150 years, judges in Baltimore have sent young people who run afoul of the law to the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School in Parkville. These days, the detentions at Hickey are relatively short term, about 30 days on average. But Hickey actually IS a school, as well as a detention center. The inmates study everything from math to woodworking. Education is critical in helping them eventually reintegrate into society. As part of our series, “Growing Up Baltimore,” WYPR’s Sarah Richards went to see what kind of job Hickey does as a temporary schoolhouse.
Every year in Maryland, hundreds of children are diagnosed with lead poisoning. It’s a serious condition that affects a child’s cognitive abilities. And despite a 1978 federal ban on lead paint, over 100,000 homes in Baltimore still contain imminent lead hazards. As “Growing Up Baltimore” continues, WYPR’s Sarah Richards files this report.
What employment opportunities are out there for younger Baltimoreans, especially those with criminal records but without high school diploma, skills and job experience? In this installment of “Growing Up Baltimore,” WYPR’s Sunni Khalid takes a look at economic opportunities for teenagers and young adults in the city.
They are usually forgotten, but they are not unseen. Groups of young, able-bodied African-American men, mill on countless Baltimore street corners, forming part of a familiar, constantly moving tableau in many neighborhoods. Our series, “Growing Up Baltimore,” continues with WYPR’s Sunni Khalid reporting on the inability of many local teenagers at-risk to find jobs and the alternatives they face in trying to survive.
This month on WYPR News, we’re focusing on the city’s youth – many of whom are facing greater challenges than at any other point in the city’s history. Young people are told – stay in school, stay off the streets, stay out of trouble – and the future is yours. But, implicit in that is the promise that they’ll be able to get decent jobs and contribute to society. In this installment of “Growing Up Baltimore,” WYPR’s Sunni Khalid reports on the economic outlook for Baltimore’s children.
Baltimore children who are rescued from abusive parents–or orphaned by murder, suicide or disease – often wind up in foster care. And that can be either a blessing or a further tragedy. In this installment of our series, “Growing Up Baltimore,” WYPR’s Karen Hosler has the story of a young woman who survived abuse, neglect and Maryland’s foster care system. She’s now determined to make life better for those who come behind her.
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