WASHINGTON — So often when we cover violent crime in D.C., we hear residents say there aren't enough resources and recreational centers to keep young people off the street.
Monday – a promise two decades in the making.
District leaders broke ground on the first ever rec center in historic Anacostia in memory of a recent victim of violence. In fact, the new recreation center at Ketchum Elementary School is just a block away from 16th and Good Hope Road, Southeast, where 35-year-old Bernard Hodges was killed in the Aug. 5 mass shooting.
Mayor Muriel Bowser said the block, where residents loiter most of the day, has been plagued by crime and drug activity for decades. But where some see drugs and despair, others see a community in crisis.
“Sometimes we forget about grieving kids; we forget about grieving wives and the grieving community,” said Markia O’Brien-Hodges, who believes while sometimes dangerous, residents gather on the block where they feel accepted and loved.
The young mother is grieving too. Her husband, Bernard, was an innocent victim of the shooting.
“The city took my husband, so I don't know what to say,” O’Brien-Hodges said as she became emotional. “I’m upset, but I’m OK because he did his job. He did his job here. He worked hard. He helped people. I even forgive them because they don't know any better. They need love and that man loved me, so good that I am able to stand and do this.”
Now, district leaders are building upon his legacy and on Monday morning broke ground the first new rec center to be built in Ward 8 in 20 years.
“We want to honor this young man with what we're doing,” said Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White pointing to a portrait of Hodges that will be hung inside the new recreation center, “where there's no vision the people perish, and this young man had a big vision.”
"We were at the first meeting,” added Presto Gray, the executive director of Project Purpose, “me, Bernard Hodges, BJ and Councilmember Trayon White – we've been pushing for this for like 15 years now."
WUSA9 asked the mayor how she would respond to families who say the rec center was too late and their children suffered waiting.
Bowser deferred to White who replied, “We don't like talking about what we can't do, we like to spend our time and energy talking about what we can do.”
“The amenities we are giving you were thoughtful and intentional,” added DPR Director Thennie Freeman. “So when you hear we're having a demonstration kitchen that's not just a demonstration kitchen. That's a place where our colleagues and business owners in the District can come teach residents how to cook, how to prepare meals for their families, and get their food handler's certificate.”
“Is it really gonna change? Are you really gonna help the community?” asked O’Brien-Hodges, “Because for me, if it's for the community, you should hire the community. These people on the block bring them in and they will do it. It's sad to say but sometimes you have to give them the pencil to write.”
Anacostia's new rec is slated to open fall of 2024. It is the Second of five new recreation centers slated for Ward 8.
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