Baltimore City to invest in youth athletics, summer jobs to reduce violence

Baltimore City's Children and Youth Fund (BCYF) will make several investments into youth athletics programs, summer job programs and Mayor Brandon Scott's youth engagement strategy in an effort to reduce youth violence this summer. 

According to the mayor's office, the strategy has helped reduce youth violence over the past two summers. The investments aim to continue the positive trend. 

The BCYF will establish a new youth athletics fund with an initial  $500,000 investment to expand access to vendor-provided athletic programming in Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS). 

The youth athletics fund will build on BCPS's launch of middle school sports programming, which has allowed thousands of students to access athletics in schools, and will create a path for more philanthropy to invest in middle school athletics. 

"We best enrich the lives of Baltimore City students when our community offers more opportunities to learn both inside and outside the classroom," said Dr. Sonja Brookins Santelises, CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools.

BCYF will also allocate $6 million in funds to support YouthWorks, the city's summer employment program. The investment will ensure that 8,500 young people find meaningful employment during the summer. 

The investment into YouthWorks will provide young people in the city with paid work experiences, professional development and career readiness training through the Mayor's Office of Employment and Development (MOED).

The fund will also invest $1.5 million into Mayor Scott's summer youth engagement strategy, which has helped reduce youth victimization and violence.

The city will use the funding to provide outreach workers, structured programming and safe spaces for young people during the summer. 

"This is about investing in our young people holistically - in their futures, their well-being and their safety," Mayor Scott said. "Together, with BCYF, MOED, and Baltimore City Public Schools, we are ensuring that Baltimore's young people have every opportunity to thrive."

Decrease in Baltimore City crime

Baltimore City saw a major reduction in crime in 2024. It was the third year in a row that the city's violent crime rate dropped, according to data from the Baltimore City U.S. Attorney's Office. 

As of March 3, 2025, homicides and nonfatal shootings were down in the city compared to 2024. Homicides were down 29% and nonfatal shootings were down by 41%, according to Mayor Scott. 

"While we are on the right path and are continuing to approach public safety the right way, understanding that it is more than just the responsibility of law enforcement and we all have a role to play, the work cannot and should not stop here," the mayor said. 

"We have a responsibility to expand the strategies and interventions we know are working, continue to be proactive, and deepen our efforts to build a better, safer Baltimore for all," Mayor Scott added. 

According to the CBS News gun violence tracker, there has been a 20% decrease in the number of gun violence victims over the past five years in Baltimore City, including victims of fatal and non-fatal shootings and any armed encounters. 

The tracker, which draws on crime data through the end of December 2024, shows that 389 children and teens faced threats of gun violence in Baltimore City in 2024. 

Data shows there were 499 youth victims of gun violence in 2023, and 389 in 2024, a 22% reduction over one year.