Culmore youths feel unsafe
Life can be tough for teens, but for those living in high-crime areas, just walking home at night can be especially challenging, as they have to deal with scary adults, broken glass, bullies, and harassment.
Middle and high school students from Culmore and other lower-income areas in Bailey’s Crossroads shared their concerns about safety at a youth summit at the Bailey’s Crossroads Teen Center earlier this week.
The event is part of the Opportunity Neighborhoods (ON) program, which targets resources to vulnerable youths and families based on their needs. The ON – Crossroads effort is headed by Second Story with funding from the Fairfax County Department of Neighborhood and Community Services.
One of the panelists complained about “drunks hanging around when kids are playing.” Several youths cited lots of broken glass around the apartments.
The adult facilitator, Edwin Alsaro, a community organizer with Second Story, advised the teens to avoid walking around at night.
When Alsaro asked whether they feel safe in school, one panelist said she sees bullying at school but doesn’t do anything about it because she doesn’t want to be bullied.
Another panelist said she sees a lot of fighting at Glasgow Middle School. An audience member said “it’s common to see people using vapes and using and selling drugs in the boys’ bathroom at Justice [High School]. It’s really scary.”
Related story: ON – Crossroads helps meet the needs of Culmore residents
According to Alsaro “fighting has spiked since schools reopened” for in-person learning. He hears about one or two fights a day at Justice.
Two weeks ago, a gang tagged an apartment building with grafitti in Culmore, then another gang tagged on top of it, he said.
Another safety issue raised by the youths is the lack of lighting in Culmore. One teen called for more street lights on Vista Drive and said, “kids are scared walking home at night.”
“When there are no lights, they try to ambush you,” a Glasgow student added. Another student complained about the lack of lights on the fields by Bailey’s Lower Elementary School. She said girls playing soccer feel uncomfortable being watched by a bunch of guys.
Other youths said they feel unsafe going to the 7-Eleven on Glen Carlyn Road because “a lot of men hang around in the parking lot and inside the store playing the slot machines.”
“The same people gather every day at the same time, near the fence by 7-Eleven gambling, drinking, and smoking,” a Glasgow student said.
Another Youth Summit participant complained about “alcoholics pissing on the floor every day in the apartment complexes and harassing teens.”
Alsaro agreed to talk to the apartment managers and urge the police to step up patrols in the area.
He also said he will petition for a “slow down” sign after an audience member said speeding is also a problem, noting that a speeding car hit a girl on Bellview Drive by the Walgreens at 7 a.m. on March 21.
When Alsaro asked the group what they want to see in the community, several people mentioned more recreation opportunities. He said the Bailey’s Community Center will start intramural sports in a couple of months after a two-year hiatus during the pandemic.
Several people also spoke in favor of having mental health education – covering the signs of suicide and coping mechanisms – at the Teen Center. “That’s just as important as physical health,” one teen said.
So sad for these kids! Yes to more lights—even solar lights would help and be less costly and more maintenance free in the long run. Yes to stepped up police patrols, or maybe hire security guards/bouncers to supplement already stretched police forces to patrol day & night. Those qualified could be armed with non-lethal weapons.
I’m thinking the adult residents are either really stressed and overworked/overwhelmed or part of the problem. So how about a “community center” for the miscreant adults, where they can go & drink & gamble with supervision to see they use the facilities and not the floors or stairwells, maybe offer discounted low- or no-alcohol beer on tap (with the switch to serving only nonalcoholic after 4-5 beers and after 7 pm) and have activities and classes and mental health appointments. They could share the psychiatrist/s with the kids to save money on hiring but would have individual appointments in a secure facility/room nearby. If uniformed or undercover police could pick up these folks for loitering and drop them at the center, that might help. They’d have to check in for a couple of hours there so as not to be charged. AA, ESL, job skills training, parenting classes, healthy cooking classes and psychiatric help could be available as well as wholesome entertainment (puzzles, Bingo, basketball or soccer if there’s room for a court. Rehab & detox referrals could be offered. If the men (and I’m assuming it’s at least mostly men) could be trained and supervised to do gardening/landscaping (including fruit & vegetable gardens) in the neighborhood it would save money for the property folks, beautify the area, provide fresh food for the community centers (if not stolen), and provide job skills & referrals for employment.
Could we have roving packs of responsible, vetted and trained retired people and other volunteers helping out to patrol the area day and night and volunteer at the teen center? They could act like a neighborhood watch patrol, be adoptive bonus parents or grandparents to offer advice, guidance and attention to kids who are often neglected and left to their own devices. At the teen/kids center they could offer homework help, ESL classes, cookie baking, cooking classes, nutrition counseling, and life skills training, maybe people available for “ask a senior” groups in a private room to offer advice. There could be Al-a teen meetings, even AA & rehab/detox referrals for those who need it.
Not sure how you get permission from absent or irresponsible parents, but those who are available could sign a blanket permission for the kids to go on field trips. Maybe the kids could hold car washes and bake sales (from stuff they bake themselves) to raise funds for fun outings to water parks or amusement parks. The retired/volunteer squad could take the kids on field trips to parks, museums and festivals. They could start with one-two adults taking groups of three kids to a school sports or performance event using donations or getting discount tickets, then another confined place (indoor water park) to see who stays with the group & follows directions. Then try a park hike. Those who run off or make trouble would be immediately taken back to the center by one of the adults and offered the “advice corner” and a psychiatric appointment.
After weeding out troublemakers, the adult teams could take progressively larger groups and more adventurous trips to DC museums or hikes along Skyline Drive. Kids could be encouraged to join Scout troops that would meet at the center. Kids who misbehaved would have to earn the privilege of progressively adventurous field trips and only allowed at the next level once they proved themselves at the lower level. Bathroom cleaning duty maybe?
Adult volunteers could be tasked with driving kids short distances to avoid walking through dangerous areas.
All that… or just pull your kids from public schools if you love them. Prioritizing your kids is costly — and worth every bit of $, time, and sacrifice.
I don’t know why you are being such a troll. The vast majority of people can’t pull their kids from public schools because private is either too expensive or private schools just won’t accept their kids (you want a private school to teach a kid with an IEP? hah!).
I got a public school education K-12, and then went to a public university (Mary Washington). At 39 I am a Director of Software Development. My wife similarly got a public education. She is an Assistant Director in Alexandria City. My parents got public educations. One worked for IBM for most of his career and the other had an accomplished record of civilian service in department of defense. One of my sisters got a public education and went on to become a chemical engineer. My other sister – also public school educated – is now has a doctorate in food and nutrition science and has done research with ROTC cadets for which she was given multiple honors for and is now teaching at the collegiate level.
This is just part of my family’s story, but this kind of story is repeated over and over across countless families across the country.
Our public schools may have issues sometimes. I certainly take issue with some of the things the board does or doesn’t do, which I speak up about. But attacking public schools as a whole as if getting a public education will destroy your future is just stupid talk.
Congratulations on your success. My family’s story (Gen X) is similar. I went to public school.
Public schools in our area have gotten dramatically worse by every meaningful metric.
I’m being sincere when I recommend pulling kids because I believe public schools are failing them. The schools continue to get worse.
Homeschooling is a viable option that many parents decided to stick with after test-driving it during covid. Anything is better than throwing your kids in today’s public schools and rationalizing that it’s ok… when you know it’s not. That’s my opinion, respectfully submitted.
I volunteer in FCPS in a variety of settings and grades, including Baileys and Glasgow. The schools are safe, kids are learning and it is a nurturing, inspiring environment. Are there kids who struggle? Yes. Always. But on the whole out schools are something to be proud of. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.
I too graduated from public schools and they were not nearly as nice or well staffed as Fairfax. What I’ve noticed is the Fairfax schools are more concerned about every non-critical subject matter/issue. Fairfax needs to focus on core skills – English reading, English writing, and math. Mastery of those skills/abilities needs to be top honor and driver of education. If I added anything else it would be science. As being highly competent in them will open every future opportunity (work or school). Sadly, that is not what Fairfax schools focus on – it seems to be emotional well being is the priority according two two principals I’ve heard this year. That and sports at high school.
Rather than use this as a reason for school-bashing or tut-tuting about immigration (the usual responses here), let’s just listen to what the students have to say. Each of them is doable in their own right, it just takes will and not that much money.
1) Put pressure on the school and system to reduce bullying, fighting, and bathroom issues. Can be done.
2) Put in lights on Vista Drive and elsewhere – make walking safer. Use common design approaches to reduce the wide open nature of the area, make it feel safer.
3) Crack down on 7-11 – force them to clean it up, patrol the parking lots more, eliminate slots, etc.
4) Put recreational activities directly in the community, not way over at Bailey’s Community Center – we did this in the 90s when I worked on this issue and we had lots of involvement
5) Increase access to mental health resources
These are not impossible, not incredibly expensive options. They are just a few things that can be done by our community to make life in it a bit better for some of its children. Each of these actions identified by the children has a local government agency that can work the problem and there are numerous non-profits and interest groups that could also participate.
What are we waiting for? Who will coordinate this? Why not?
I’m afraid there won’t be much done on the many excellent proposals here, especially if funding is needed. Fairfax County faces a huge revenue shortfall for fiscal 2024, $274 million according to. Fairfax Now. https://www.ffxnow.com/2023/11/30/fairfax-county-anticipates-pulling-back-on-spending-in-next-years-budget/. I often wonder why the second wealthiest county in the US, namely Fairfax County, is so poor when it comes to expanding needed programs for public safety, mental health and recreation among other things? Agencies are being asked to cut spending again by 7%.
Most of these well meaning suggestions are actually degrading. The adults in Culmore are not sheep who need to be managed.
Hmm….. there is clearly an issue with kid’s safety so maybe your feelings shouldn’t be the highest priority!
Same things are happening at Vistas of Annandale..same problems, different neighborhood. Police and board of supervisors are aware and do absolutely nothing