Currently there is a lack of after school programs in the District of Columbia.  Since 2009, two of the eleven Boys and Girls Clubs located in Washington, DC have closed with a third likely to follow.  During this same period, 23 District schools have closed with an additional 15 schools being considered for closing; limiting sports programs in many neighborhoods and narrowing the availability of school-based after school programs.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists youth violence as a continued threat to the health and well-being of our nation’s youth.  Their research has found that prevention is an important component of curbing youth violence and must be bolstered.  According to the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs, the peak hours of youth involved violence are just after school between the hours of 3 and 7pm.



With the gentrification of many areas of the District some argue that the situation for DC youth is improving, however there are still many thousands of kids in the District who desperately need extra help, as well as supervised play in the hours after school lets out.  According to the DC Action for Children 2012 eDatabook, nearly 4,000 children in DC live in neighborhoods with no recreation facilities whatsoever.



The Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs (IWGYP), composed of representatives from 12 federal departments and 5 federal agencies that support programs and services focusing on youth, advises that after school programs are a great way to generate positive outcomes for youth and prevent this epidemic from spreading.  Communities and businesses also benefit when youth have safe and productive ways to spend their time while their parents are at work.

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Youth violence and crime are directly tied to the economic health, quality of health, and potential growth of a community and is an issue that should concern everyone.  Wolf Pack Leadership’s core mission is to educate youth in the DC Metropolitan area about the wide array of life choices available to them guide them towards the path of enrichment.