- These stones were part of a memorial that we built back in 2009, starting with 30 stones.

As you can see, these stones represent young people who were killed by gun violence in Chicago.

From a 7-year-old, a 1-year-old baby, to 24 year olds.

Gun violence has ravaged all these families.

2020, we started running out of room.

My husband kept building, and building it over, taking it out, building it over to make more room.

But we got too far behind.

What we want to do, is to redo the memorial with plaques.

'Cause we don't want them to be forgotten.

That's the reason this memorial was built, is because we don't want them to be forgotten.

All this stuff going over here.

We gonna take all this stuff out and put it on these shelves.

Excuse me, Charles.

Open these up.

Kids Off the Block.

We are known as a community-based youth development organization.

Tutoring, mentoring, leadership programs, training programs, community outreach training.

I thought we had way more clothes than this.

Or maybe there's some more somewhere.

Being a teenager is already enough.

And then to add upon that poverty, violence.

Just put the bleachers right here.

Y'all don't have to take 'em over there.

Our main focus is young people ages 10 to 24 years old and their families.

Okay, good, good.

Right there.

Thank you all so much.

Come on.

I'm gonna need everybody.

We keep them busy for hours.

and so they're not out there trying to get involved in trouble or trying to listen to someone who is, because we've got them.

Once we start helping young people, we start realizing they didn't have the basic necessities to go to school.

So we started doing back school events like in 2006.

We wanna give our children everything they need so they can learn.

If they're missing pencils to write with, if they're missing notebook paper, that messes with their brain like, "I don't have that."

And then they start feeling like it ain't worth it.

And I've heard these from children.

The basic thing they need to learn, as long as they have it, they're more focused on their work, on what they need to do.

So that's why it's important to me, Hey y'all, they can come here.

Hey!

Hey!

We're here for support to help them to thrive, to survive, to live life, and to get them all the resources they need to do these things.

And that foundation is what helps prevent violence.

And not in the streets carrying guns or shooting each other or feeling they have to rob.

They have a sense of, I'm helping in my community, their families come.

We feed hundreds for Thanksgiving.

We give away toys for Christmas.

Sometimes up to 500 families.

To me that inspires them, gives them hope that somebody in the community cares.

And personally that makes me feel wonderful because I know I did my little small part we did to help them.

Okay.

My name is Diane Latiker.

Oh, I'm sorry.

- [Reporter] Nerves.

- Sorry!

Do I spell my whole name?

- [Reporter] Yeah.

- Oh, I'm sorry.

Okay.

My name is Diane Latiker and I, oh geez, I can't believe I'm doing this.

And I am founder and president of Kids Off the Block In 2003, KOB, Kids Off the Block, in the midst of the violence, started trying to help some of the kids to not participate in violence.

And so we had a lot of young people around here then.

Lots of young people from different blocks.

James and I have eight kids, four boys and four girls.

Aisha was the last one at home.

(People Chattering) Aisha had nine friends, 13 to 15 years old, boys and girls.

And every weekend I'd take 'em skating, fishing to the movies, wherever I could get 'em.

Keep up with Aisha.

- [Kid] KOB!

It gon' be okay!

- My mom saw it and my mom said, "Diane, you should do something with those kids they like and respect you."

And I thought about what she said, and then I prayed about it.

And I went out there and I said, "Aisha!"

I just hollered at her.

"Yes ma'am!"

I said, "Y'all, come here for a minute."

- I said, "Look y'all, I don't know what I'm doing.

I just want to talk to y'all.

Tell me how I can help y'all."

And Aisha's going "Ma!"

She didn't want no part of it.

Her friends start telling me that the boys were being chased by the gangs, that they were all failing in school.

And I said, "I'm just a mom.

How can I help these kids?"

Oh, you gon' do it?

I'm not a scholar or got degrees, but maybe I can help with homework.

We can go now?

- [Man] Yeah.

- [Diane] That's how Kids Off the Block started.

- ♪ We're telling parents to leave us alone.

♪ ♪ Thinking we are so grown.

♪ - [Diane] Violence was always there.

- [Girls] ♪ Come on young people.

♪ - [Diane] We had like, this little space in here, where they could come and relax and be themselves without judgment.

- ♪ We're killing each other ♪ ♪ and losing a whole generation.

♪ We're not going any further.

- [Man] Is that it?

- [Girls] Yeah.

- When you started the organization, it's like the phone stopped ringing for me.

They would be here even when I wasn't here, they would be calling, "Oh, can I speak to your mom?"

And they was always my friends.

- Oh yeah, they loved you.

- They were family but, they went from, you know, hanging to me to wanting to be around you because that love wasn't at home.

That support wasn't at home.

A lot of my friends didn't have two parent homes.

And so they were looking for daddy as well.

Not only you know that side of you, but to have that father figure in the home because they didn't have it.

- [Diane] That's right.

It went from like, 10 kids in the house to like, 75.

That was crazy.

Night and day.

- We had no choice but to believe.

I commend you for sticking it out.

We celebrate 21 years this year.

(People Clapping) 21 long years.

- For real.

So we're going to visit the grandma that the grandson was shot.

- And Henry came and took the intake to get more information about the family and the situation.

The neighbors said that there was a drive-by.

A car pulled up, got out and started shooting.

- The little boy, he got shot standing in the middle of the living room.

- [Diane] We hired Henry and Kenneth, who's our program manager, to go out into the community to let people know that Kids Off the Block wanted to help them.

But we wanna get outta her way too.

Because that kinda can be tense.

- Yeah.

Ready Ken?

- Yep.

- There you go.

That's 308 right there.

- Okay Let's do this.

How you doing?

This is my supervisor, Mr. Moore.

- [Kenneth] How you doing?

- They're out there to see families, what they need, how can we help?

They actually keep up with violent incidents to do anti-violence work in West Pullman and Roseland.

- We've been having a lot of activity around here as far as gunshots in this particular area.

It's really been a really hot spot for the last couple of months.

Especially on this corner on hundred 19th and Michigan.

- And it all stems from this liquor store right here.

- It was like, three shootings at this one location on a Sunday.

And I ended up having to call Henry and Henry came up, met me up here.

- Car pulled up right here and shot at least about.

It was all over the news.

They shot about what, 30 times down the street at this house right here.

- This whole area, this hundred 19th Michigan, it's a very hot area.

So you gotta be very careful when transporting yourself around this particular area.

It's pretty hot.

- [Henry] Yes you do.

- [Kenneth] But see, they know it's an issue with that location.

That's why he's acting funny.

- It's something to hide as you can see how he acting.

Later on today, I'm gonna walk back down there.

I know that dude with that tough guy act 'cause he see a camera in the car.

I'm gonna talk to him.

Say "What's on your mind?"

'Cause that's not right man.

Them type of people don't want nothing to change.

- A woman is shot and killed while sitting on the porch of South Side Home.

She's been identified as 49-year-old Katrina Brown.

The shooting happened about 9:30 last night.

Near hundred 18th in South Indiana in the West Pullman neighborhood.

Police say a man in a passing SUV opened fire hitting the woman.

- [Diane] A shooting happened down on hundred 18th and it was Charles's mother.

Charles volunteered at our Back to School event and literally a week later, his mom was shot and killed.

It's nerve wracking right now.

I'm just gonna be honest.

Normally when Charles and I talk, I'm very stirring.

It's playful Charles really?

- I ain't cursed.

No, I said that.

- [Diane] "Stop Charles, don't do that."

You know.

Charles, you going the wrong way.

This way.

But it's like everything has changed.

I saw how hard he worked for the kids to like him.

I saw how he just wanted to belong to something.

And I would say if we don't keep Charles, love him, help him.

He will either be the shooter or he'll be a victim.

And I always believed that from the time he was 10, because I saw the environment he was in.

And Charles did reach out to me.

His mom was trying to see what was going on.

You know, what was happening.

That was her house.

And she got struck.

She got struck in the head.

She died in his arms.

- Can you imagine what a young child can go through watch his mama bleed out?

- [Diane] In his arms.

And he said she was trying to talk to him.

- Yeah.

But he said too much blood was coming up by her mouth.

That's terrible.

Really terrible.

- [Diane] First words outta Charles' mouth was, "If I'd never been living there, this wouldn't happened."

And I was like, "Charles, that wasn't your fault."

There you are.

Boy, that hair growing.

Well, first of all, how are you?

Stop trying to fix your hair, - [Charles] Taking it day by day.

- Yeah.

Charles had to relocate for his own safety, for his family safety.

How's school been?

- [Charles] I been staying out of trouble doing my work and stuff like that.

Let the BS pass me.

I know I can get outta hand at point.

So I keep myself calm at points.

- I'm glad you know that.

I don't even know how to ask you, but how, you know.

So have you been able to sleep?

Have you been able to.

- I don't sleep peacefully no more.

It's like when I go to sleep, I still think about my mama and we still, you know.

- Yeah.

Do you hear her voice a lot?

- It's like I be trying to block it away, but it's like, you know, that's your mom.

You still gon', you know, - I wouldn't block her voice.

That probably soothes you makes you feel better.

I'm talking about like not blocking as in like, it's like, you know, how like sometimes you get like flashbacks.

- [Diane] Oh yeah.

- [Charles] Like when I get flashbacks, it's like I get emotional.

But I'm trying to, you know, it's like I don't be crying no more.

'cause it's like I can't cry no more.

All I could do is just do better.

And I know she seeing it.

- [Diane] Oh yeah.

That's what she always wanted for you.

You know I know that.

You make her proud.

You got a support system where you at?

- Yeah.

- Well you know you still can reach out though, right?

- Yeah, for sure.

Yeah.

- I still don't know what to say to you except if, you know, if you need my help, I always been there and I will always be here.

- [Charles] Right.

- [Diane] You know, I'm just at a loss for words.

I know you tell me, you all right but I don't know how you can be.

- I ain't gonna hide nothing from y'all.

If I wanna talk I could talk, like, I could talk but it's like.

- [Diane] You don't wanna talk about it over and over, that's right.

- [Charles] It's not gonna leave your head.

And like me watching my mom die in my face, it's like, crazy.

- [Diane] That is crazy.

Like I said, I'm here, you know I'm here.

You know my number.

- If you need me for anything, I'm here.

Alright, love you.

- [Charles] Love you too Miss Diane.

- Okay.

Bye-bye.

Wow.

- When I first came here, I was 15 years old.

My auntie moved out here in '71.

I thought I was in another city.

Nothing but red roses, green trees, grass.

I had never seen anything like that.

There was a movie theater, there was a skating rink.

There was Mendels' where every kid wanted to go to, good Catholic high school.

And it was a lot of activities out here.

Stores, places you just wanted to be in Roseland.

When white flight happened, just, 'cause the blacks started moving in.

This is senior high school.

And it used to have like 2,100 students.

It now, has under 200 students.

They're talking about closing it.

The schools are institutions in the community.

They mean something.

And when they close up and the kids have to walk past them every day, it becomes a part of the problem, not the solution anymore.

This is Songhai.

So when they closed the school, this is what it looks like.

I call it a monstrosity, a block long.

We were cleaning up the block on Michigan and one of our young people was shot right here.

So we dropped all the brooms in the street and we all ran through the blocks and ran here.

And Antoine was laying there by the building, by that fence over there.

And we thought that we had lost him 'cause it was so much blood.

But they, they got him to the hospital on time.

He still got five bullets in him.

But he lived.

Oh, I'm liking this dress.

I just noticed that.

- [Woman] That's what Tina said.

- [Diane] Yeah.

That's nice.

Down here, you run, you run.

Y'all stayed.

Y'all didn't.

Y'all didn't move out.

- Stay being planted.

- [Diane] Yes, that's right.

- You know because we're still needed here.

We was taught to support each other.

- You know what I'm saying?

To uplift one, not to leave one behind because that's how we grow, it helps.

- [Diane] That's right.

That's right.

- You know, and you has always been a blessing for not just me, but every time I turn the news on and some young person that made it, they say, "I'm here talking to you on this platform because Ms. D." - [Diane] Yeah.

- You know, and I say, "I know who they talking about!"

I remember when you wanted to start that program.

- Yup.

- And making sure these children have a future.

- What they say, what that village is supposed to be about?

- [Barber] That's what's supposed to be about That's right.

Let me give you a hug and get out your half.

- Yes, darling.

I love you.

- I really appreciate you taking time.

I love you too.

Thank you.

- [Barber] And have a blessed day.

Yes.

- You too sweetie.

I would like for you to understand something about my opinion about my community.

I don't care how it looks.

'cause I love it.

Because it's our community and I don't feel like ugh, you know, it's so bad or it's so terrible because there's some good people here doing some great things.

And I'd rather be here and help than to be somewhere badmouthing my community.

And I'm not gonna do that and I don't wanna do that.

So this is our new home under renovation.

This is where Kids Off the Block will be moving to.

We came up with the Hope House, until we actually name it, but it's been under renovation now for about a year.

I see it's coming along fine.

Those doors were not there and the back porch is done.

It's beautiful.

My husband and I need our own house back.

It's been 21 years and we'll be able to offer more services.

Kids Off the Block will.

We are supposed to get a basketball court here.

And we got all that room back there for our dance and barbecues.

Oh man, I love it.

I love it.

And so I'm thinking this wall right here, this wall right here would be perfect for the memorial because we can't bring the stones.

There's not enough room.

But we can do the plaques.

I love it.

That looks so good.

It's coming together.

You can't lose hope when that's all you have.

You know, it's more valuable than anything.