DeKalb summer fun for kids aims to foster positive relations between police, community

DeKALB – It was a hop’n time for people of all ages under the park shelter at Welsh Park in DeKalb recently.

Children and their families tried their hand at everything from painting and playing Uno cards to listening to live music and playing chess.

It was all part of a new summer program dubbed, Fun Jam in the Park, which aims to provide local youth and their families with kid-friendly activities to enjoy as a way of helping to build and strengthen community relations with the police.

DeKalb Police Chief David Byrd said the purpose of the program is simple.

“This is an opportunity for us to build trust in the community,” Byrd said. “That’s one of the ideas for having this event but also just to build unity and then for them to have fun.”

The event is hosted from 5 to 7 p.m. every Tuesday through Aug. 8 at Welsh Park, 651 Russell Road in DeKalb. On Thursdays, the event takes place at the same time but rotates between various parks in town.

Upcoming Welsh Park Tuesday dates include July 11, July 18, July 25 and Aug. 8.

Thursday sessions also run from 5 to 7 p.m. at various community parks throughout the city: July 13 at McCormick Park, 1700 S. Seventh St.; July 20 at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 1201 Twombly Road; July 27 at Hopkins Park, 1403 Sycamore Road; Aug. 3 at Liberty Park, 1018 Lewis St. and Aug. 10 at Lions Park, 700 W. Taylor St.

“This is an opportunity for us to build trust in the community. That’s one of the ideas for having this event but also just to build unity and then for them to have fun.”

—  DeKalb Police Chief David Byrd

Volunteer Chloe Albert was manning the painting station underneath the park shelter. She said she loves how creative the children got.

“So far, it’s going really good,” Albert said. “Everybody’s not using the stencil. They’re doing their own thing, which is perfectly fine, because there’s no rules when it comes to painting here.”

Albert said she’s glad she decided to help out at the event.

“I’m enjoying it really good,” Albert said. “I’m interacting with the kids, meeting them for the first time and getting some paint on me. I’d say it’s going pretty well.”

Damien Nichlas, 12, of DeKalb, was playing football with his friends at the park. He said he saw a lot of familiar faces at Fun Jam in the Park.

“My grandma lives in the [University Village apartment] building, so I come to the park a lot,” Nichlas said.

Nichlas said he had tried his hand at playing Uno cards, but he had lost the game. He said he may not have had the chance to secure bragging rights for beating Chief Byrd, but he still had a good time. Nichlas said his favorite part about playing Uno cards was making other people upset.

“I get to make people mad when I tell them to draw four,” Nichlas said.

Volunteer Adrien Fell, who is a teacher in DeKalb schools, was helping kids as they played with games and made art. She said she’s glad she decided to lend a hand to support the event.

“I saw it on Facebook. It looked fun,” Fell said. “I thought some of my kids might be here.”

Fell said she believes the city is working to do its part to better promote positive working relationships between members of the community and the police.

“I think they’re doing a good job trying to,” Fell aid. “It just started. This is a great start for things. [They] picked an area where a lot of people can walk to and get to. [There’s] lots of neighborhoods around. They’re doing one park a week on Thursdays, a different park in the community. So, people can go to that or a different park whenever it’s near their neighborhood. I like that they kind of moved it around. That’s smart.”

Byrd said he already considers the program a success in his view.

“This really is a community event,” Byrd said. “Adults are out here playing with us. This is what we’re looking for. This is community outreach. This is what it means. You talk about community policing. This is the foundation of that. This is how it should look.”

Byrd said organizers intend to make Fun Jam in the Park an annual event moving forward.

The program was made possible thanks to the DeKalb Police Department, DeKalb Park District, Building Leaders Advocating for Change Inc., Opportunity DeKalb and The Breakroom and Friends.