MEMPHIS, Tenn. —
A Shelby County Commissioner is seeking solutions to help lower juvenile crime rates this summer.
District 7 Commissioner Henri E. Brooks is hosting her second annual summer camp to help keep kids in neighborhoods like Frayser, Hyde Park and Klondike off the streets.
"We started out seeing there's a need to engage children,” Brooks said.
Brooks was tired of seeing kids in Memphis commit violent crimes.
"I said, 'I've got to do something in my district,’” said Brooks.
That's when she decided to create a free summer camp to keep kids ages 6 to 17 busy. District 7 includes some of the county's most underserved communities, so Brooks said it was important to keep the kids off the streets. She also wanted to show them positive role models in their own communities.
"When you look at the demographics of my district, it is one of the poorest, of course, and I have a lot of children who are not in summer school and can't afford to go to private camps,” Brooks said.
The retired teacher called the camp her pride and joy. She is encouraging everyone, especially troubled youth, to attend.
"We want to get those who actually are pondering what are they going to do every day," Brooks said. "Our curriculum is educational. It's fun. We go on field trips. We have physical activity. We have art.”
The camp is a community effort. Churches across District 7 opened their doors and brought in volunteers to host the camp.
Breakfast, lunch and a snack will be served thanks to a partnership with Memphis Shelby County Schools.
Kids who are not in the camp are still welcome to get daily meals from the camp sites.
In 2023, about 600 kids attended the camp, and this year they're prepared to host about 800.
Brooks told ABC24 that she has been talking to Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris about possibly expanding the camp beyond District 7.
The following churches and facilities are participating in the camp:
- African Village Institute
- Big Brown Summer Camp
- Corinthian Baptist Church
- Gethsemane Church
- Greater Beth-El
- Greater Impact Faith Church
- Greer Chapel
- Innovation Church
- New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church
- New Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church
- New Growth in Christ
- Oka Nashoba
- Promiseland Church
- Pursuit of God Church
- Raleigh Community Church
- St. John Missionary Baptist Church
- Travelers Rest Missionary Baptist Church
- Willing Souls Church
To register for camp, you can visit a participating church, or contact Commissioner Brooks' office at 901-222-1000 or henri.brooks@shelbycountytn.gov.