A program aimed at keeping local kids out of trouble, has announced that it will be returning this upcoming summer to the Jacksonville community.

Not only is the Rec ‘N Roll completely free, but it will also help out the parents who are not able to take time off of work to watch their kids. Coaches will be in city parks offering guidance and supervision to kids, much like they were last year when the program first started.

When Rec ‘N Roll first started last year, it went on for eight weeks at 10 different parks throughout the Jacksonville area. Most of the parks were in areas with a high-crime rate and by the end of the summer program, crime had declined significantly.

According to Jacksonville mayor, Alvin Brown, “having the opportunity to invest in programs that would target at-risk youth, to ensure that they’re not getting into gangs or participating in criminal activity, I think that’s important.”

Moving forward with this upcoming summer, Rec ‘N Roll will grow from 10 to 18 parks around the city – seven of which are located in the Operation Ceasefire zone. One of the major funders for the program is attorney Steve Pajcic, who donated an upwards of $50,000 in order to help pay for the program.

The program this summer will run from June 15 until August 7, and this year they have included some additions to the agenda. Along with the normal itinerary, the mayor also announced that the Department of Justice would be adding a team to work on helping reduce Jacksonville youth crime.