They say it takes a village to raise a child.
May’s grand opening of the newly revived Harrisburg Police Athletic League’s headquarters brought out local officials, law enforcement, banks, corporations, a college, the National Guard, a state housing agency, a local union and charitable groups.
All of them contributing support, whether financially or in-kind, to PAL, a county-wide initiative that since it began offering programs at the Downey School in January has seen the number of youth participating increase from about 40 to 400.
“Welcome to another important step in crime prevention,” said Mayor Linda Thompson, touting one of her crime-fighting initiatives.
Thompson was joined by representatives of all those groups outside the headquarters at 2000 N. 6th St., a building owned by Homeland Center, the personal care facility down the street that has provided the space to the city rent free since 1992.
Harrisburg’s last PAL was housed for many years in what’s now the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center on N. 3rd Street.
Just before the grand opening event with its balloons and T-shirts, a group of boys walking home from school stopped to ask what was going on. A few minutes later they were in T-shirts with the PAL logo, posing for pictures and getting information on PAL.
Thompson praised the success of the program, aimed at helping all children but in particular at-risk youth. She said PAL already has started to change the relationship the community’s youth has with the police force.
“Kids are running around here saying, ‘I want that cop thing,’” she said. “Now we have kids running to officers” instead of away from them.
Police Officer Jennie Jenkins, who the mayor assigned to coordinate PAL last year, said 30 officers volunteer at Downey, 1313 Monroe St., each week, serving as mentors and counselors, teaching kids to work together and respect each other.
“This is why I wanted to become a police officer,” Jenkins said. “I wanted to be a role model.”
Another 30 volunteers come from the community and local businesses. “I wanted to give back,” said Pat Erb, owner of the Caffeine Connection on 3rd Street who makes baked goods for PAL events. “I help with the snacks and I help with the children.”
Harrisburg’s PAL started in 1940, but the program was abandoned 30 years ago because of a lack of funding and commitment, Thompson said. Yet, police officers almost uniformly credit the program with helping to build safe communities.
“All you need is love,” said Susquehanna Township Police Chief Robert Martin, a Beatles’ fan and 29-year veteran of law enforcement. “If we nurture PAL, great things are going to come out of it.”
Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico said police and youth will benefit from PAL, a program he believed had long-term, if not lifetime, benefits. “This will reduce the number of kids we see coming into the juvenile system,” he said.
The private sector shows strong support: Comcast Cable, PNC Bank, Penn National Insurance, The Foundation for Enhancing Communities, The Junior League of Harrisburg, Der Harrisburg Maennerchor, AFSCME Local 521, Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, Jump Street and Harrisburg Area Community College students who developed PAL’s website: www.harrisburgpal.org.
The city’s Department of Parks, Recreation & Enrichment donated soccer equipment for PAL’s soccer program and the Pennsylvania National Guard has an officer helping mentor kids each week.
Thompson praised the support: “When the community responds to an initiative like Harrisburg PAL, we all benefit.” PAL’s roughly $175,000 budge is funded entirely through financial and in-kind contributions, said Kari Reagan-Bushey, board secretary.
Dauphin County Commissioner George Hartwick said government and the private sector had an opportunity and responsibility help youth with programs such as PAL. “We should be judged as a community by what we provide,” he said.
For more information about Harrisburg’s Police Athletic League, visit www.harrisburgpal.org.
