Atlanta teen takeovers: $50K grant awarded to launch safe community spaces

ATLANTA - Two Atlanta teens are utilizing a $50,000 grant from the city to establish safe community hubs for young people following a wave of teen takeovers across metro locations.

Grant funding for Atlanta teens

What we know:

The City of Atlanta awarded $50,000 in grant money to 17-year-old Devin Mitchell and 17-year-old Haile Irving. The two teens own The Spot, a youth-led organization in Atlanta working to address community safety.

The grant came after conversations involving the City of Atlanta, local business owners, politicians and Atlanta Public Schools. The Mayor's chief of staff provided the $50,000 city grant to support resources for a dedicated third space.

Metro Atlanta teen takeover arrests

By the numbers:

Reports highlight multiple teen takeovers across the metropolitan area this year. Incidents occurred at Atlantic Station, Cobb County, the BeltLine and during the 404 Celebration at Piedmont Park in April.

Atlanta police reported 13 arrests during these gatherings. Officers also recovered 11 firearms and cited multiple curfew violations.

Teen leaders explain safe spaces

What they're saying:

Mitchell explained the organization's focus on creating solutions for youth across the country. "We’re focused on combatting Teen Takeovers, specifically in Atlanta but cities all across the country. We see how Teen Takeovers have impacted the socialization of teens within public spaces, so it’s all about addressing that problem," Mitchell said.

Mitchell noted that public perception often overlooks the shortage of constructive locations for youth. "The problem with Teen Takeovers is that in the public eye, teens are seen as criminalized and destructive but the philosophy behind that there’s not a lot of accessibility to teen 3rd spaces, specifically safe ones," Mitchell said.

Irving emphasized that broader systemic issues contribute to youth struggles in public settings. "We’re coming into the age where there’s an increasing amount of violence. A lot of it is due to the lack of policies, when it comes to gun control and now you’re in the age where teens can have guns," Irving said.

Mitchell detailed how community leaders responded to their pitch during meetings. "Every single person in that room, after they heard us, felt like they wanted to get involved in the problem. With that, the Mayor’s chief of staff was able to give us a $50,000 grant from the city of Atlanta to focus on resources around building a teen 3rd space, in creating and cultivating a partnership with the City of Atlanta," Mitchell said.

The owners plan to use the funding to establish a safe location where teens can connect, learn and grow. "Just providing spaces for teens is going to be the solution for these teen takeovers because I don’t think these teens are intentionally causing violence, it just happens due to the lack of solution and resources for them," Mitchell said.

Mitchell added that demonstrating positive youth interaction is essential to changing public perception. "There’s so much evidence in the news and in the public eye, that teens can not be social in public spaces. So we took it upon ourselves. We have the money, we have the resources. We want to see more resources. The only way that we can do that is by proving and putting evidence out there that teen can be social in public spaces," Mitchell said.

What we don't know:

Officials have not yet confirmed the exact physical address where the new teen space will open. Specific opening dates for the facility have not been released.

What's next:

The teen owners are moving forward to complete their upcoming operational steps. Their next steps involve finalizing their business plan and identifying business owners and organizations interested in partnering with them.

AtlantaNewsCrime and Public Safety