By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer
A proposed curfew center to serve the 2nd, 7th and 8th police districts continues to attract potential volunteers from one area but no host agency.
More than 20 residents of the 2nd Police District attended another meeting for the center at Max Myers Playground and learned that no one had applied to house the site by the July 31 deadline. The curfew center program is part of Mayor John Street’s Operation Safer Streets.
"We didn’t get any response from this area," said Ron George, project manager of violence prevention initiatives for the city’s Department of Human Services.
Instead of setting a new deadline, George now plans to start directly contacting agencies in the district to gauge their interest in hosting the site.
Volunteers said they’re eager to help out with the center, which monitors children picked up by police after curfew, but wonder where the site will be and if volunteers from the other districts plan to pitch in.
"Where are all the community leaders from the seventh and eighth districts?" asked Larry Genetti, who helps run the 2nd Police District Advisory Council with his wife Lynn.
This newest curfew center presents a unique situation because it stands to serve three police districts that combined cover more than 30 square miles. DHS wants the center near Rhawn Street and Roosevelt Boulevard to make it more accessible to the 7th District, which spreads north and west of that intersection, and the 8th District, which covers the area east of the Boulevard and north of Rhawn Street.
A curfew center opened in April in the 15th District, which is bounded by Rhawn Street, the Delaware River, Frankford Creek and the Boulevard.
Some residents think it makes more sense for the 8th and 15th police districts to share a curfew center since they are close geographically. A trip from the 8th district’s most northeastern neighborhood to the proposed 2nd District site near Rhawn and the Boulevard takes approximately 20 minutes.
George said at the meeting that the 15th district center is now the busiest in the city and therefore can not accommodate curfew-breakers from the 8th district.
Among the three other districts, the 2nd reported the most curfew violations, with a cumulative 3,263 between 2004 and 2006. The 8th tallied 1,307, and the 7th logged 854 during that same period.
Community Relations Officer Steve Carr of the 8th Police District said officers and sergeants have attended the Max Myers meetings.
Carr had no concerns about the location of the center and expected more volunteers from the communities in his district to sign up once an exact place has been set.
"Everybody’s in support of it," he said.
The center is open from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and volunteer shifts are broken into four-hour blocks. Much of the work involves calling parents. Each site is also responsible for providing food and sleeping quarters for the children.
Volunteers need to complete background checks and undergo training in de-escalation and crisis techniques, but can not physically restrain a child who becomes disruptive.
George said volunteer training would not begin until a center is identified. Another meeting will be held for additional volunteers today (Wednesday) at 6 p.m. at Max Myers, 1601 Hellerman St. ••
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com