BALTIMORE — In Baltimore City, a gunshot wound is sadly something many young men share.
Quante Jones survived his. And today, he credits his encounter with a local nonprofit with changing his life.
"They just came to my door," Jones told WMAR. "And it took me about ten months to come to the building, but when I came, I liked it."
Jones shared his story at an open house Wednesday night for the nonprofit Roca - with donors and local officials in the crowd. At the event, organizers showed their 'safe space' for young people in Mount Vernon.
"An immediate response for these young people is necessary," said Kurt Palermo, executive vice president for Roca. "It’s critical. It’s what so many of them have to have in order to keep them safe."
As leaders acknowledge, there is no catch-all for Baltimore’s violence, but they hope, from their headquarters in Baltimore and on the ground, they can chip away at it.
Leaders aim to provide a safe space for the city’s at-risk youth ages 16 to 24, using methods like cognitive behavioral therapy to set them on a better path.
"Along with some tough love," said Erek Barron, U.S. attorney for Maryland, in attendance Wednesday night, "we must invest in community-based prevention and intervention programs."
According to Roca’s data - almost everyone they engage with has a prior arrest - but about three quarters had no new arrests after two years.
Roca gets public and private funding to do what it does, including a few million from Baltimore City and the state.
Another million dollars came from the state budget this year to help Roca expand into new territory like Baltimore County, as noted by Maryland House Speaker Adrienne Jones, also in attendance.
"If you feel like you’re alone, this is somewhere you’ll feel like you have family that want to see you do good," Jones added.
Roca recently completed its fourth full year in the city; it has been in Baltimore since 2018 and is also active in New England.
