Grandma Invites Chicago Gang Members Inside for Serving of Hope

by Mary Beth Sammons (Subscribe to Mary Beth Sammons's posts)
Apr 11th 2011 12:30PM

Filed under: In The News, Amazing Parents

On the gritty, gang-filled streets of Chicago's Roseland neighborhood, a grandma has launched a one-woman campaign against drugs and violence by inviting troubled youth into her home where she serves up kindness, compassion and food.

They call her "Ms. Diane," and, in the last year alone, she has helped more than 300 at-risk teens in one of Chicago's most blighted and gang-infested neighborhoods, according to the website for her nonprofit organization, Kids Off the Block.

In a neighborhood where residents lock themselves inside their homes to escape rampant gang violence, Diane Latiker opens her door, inviting gang members to come inside, CNN, which recently featured her as a CNN Hero, reports.

"They say I'm a nut because I let kids into my home who I didn't even know," Latiker, 54, a mom of eight and grandmother of 13, tells CNN. "But I know (the kids) now. And I'll know the new generation."

Latiker writes on her site that her mother, Evangelist Ruth Jackson, told her to "do something with the youth."

That moment, she says, transformed her and gave her a new mission in life.

In 2003, Latiker was concerned her youngest daughter, Aisha, a high school student, would fall into a gang, since gang members lived next door.

"I started taking (Aisha and her friends) to swimming and movies and whatever," Latiker tells CNN. "My mother saw that, and she said: 'Diane, why don't you do something with the kids? They like you and respect you.' "

That's when she launched the community program Kids Off the Block, with the hope that by providing teens who have been in trouble with support and a place to go, she could bring new hope to a community in crisis.

The program started in her living room, but during the following years "my house started bursting at the seams," she tells CNN.

"It doesn't matter where they come from, what they've done," Latiker tells the network. "We've had six gangs in my living room at one time. ... But that was the safe place. And you know what? They respected that."

The South Side neighborhood where Latiker runs her crusade has been hit hard by the recession, and even more so by gun violence. With just one month left in the school year, 118 youth already have been shot in Chicago public schools, according to Chicago Talks.

"How can a kid get a gun like he can get a pack of gum? It's that crazy," Latiker tells CNN.

Latiker told the kids her house was open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They could come over for food, help with their homework or just to talk about their hopes, dreams and fears, she tells CNN.

"I invited them into my living room," she tells the network. "They all started saying: 'I want to be a doctor. I want to be a rapper. I want to be a singer.' They didn't want to be out here running up and down the street. They wanted to be involved in something."

Eventually, Latiker quit her job as a cosmetologist to focus on the kids full-time. Through the KOB Youth Community Center, she has set up tutoring sessions with teachers and retired educators and has provided job interview training and opportunities to play football, basketball and soccer. Latiker and volunteers also started taking the kids on field trips to museums, movies, skating rinks, water parks and professional sports games.

Every day, 30 to 50 young people show up at the center for tutoring, counseling or activities such as sports, drama, dance or music.

KOB caters to people age 11 to 24, but 80 percent of those in the program are male, Latiker tells CNN. She emphasizes activities that target males because they are most often perpetrating or confronting the violence of the streets.

Maurice Gilchrist, 15, is one teenager who credits Kids Off the Block with turning his life around, CNN reports.

Gilchrist joined a gang when he was 12, and tells the network life in a gang meant looking behind his back every day.

"We always used to jump on people, rob everything, steal," he tells CNN. "Miss Diane, she changed my life. I love her for that."

Want to get the latest ParentDish news and advice? Sign up for our newsletter!

ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)

Add Your Comments

4-11-2011 @ 5:26PM

diamondstar2007 said...

I think what she is doing is needed. Back in the day no one would have the guts to confront this woman or harm her. There was a time in America where kids really respected elders. Parenting is lost nowadays and alot of young single mothers out there. We need that guidance again and fearless determination to hold up our youth.

4-12-2011 @ 5:33AM

Marlene said...

I say we pray for Ms. Diane and her quest to remove kids off the block with positve reinforcement and guidance. Pray for her safety and for the gang members that are trying to change their lives. Amen!

4-11-2011 @ 4:40PM

shrksb8 said...

I'd rather die knowing I saved someone else than sit back and do nothing.

Jan said...

Mexican anchor children are far more violent gang members than blacks ever were. Mexican children are growing up to be americas worst immigrants to ever wenter our country,

4-11-2011 @ 6:17PM

george said...

She is certainly not crazy. When you see someone like this putting it all on the line for those we love to fear and hate; you're just witnessing someone who has more hope and love for the least of mankind than you are capable of. This is a gift given to very few from God to rescue others from a day of destruction.
Who tolerated your behavior when others condemned you in your youth? Who gave you mercy and love and unconditional kindness when you did not deserve it. Who prayed for you when you couldn't pray for yourself ? Perhaps you cannot remember or see them from the lofty position you speak from today.

May God continue to grant you more mercy than you have for others. If he does not; there is no hope for the world.

4-11-2011 @ 5:05PM

karen, a Bengals fan said...

No she is not crazy she is filled with hope and sounds like she is giving some of these kids hope to do something better. And maybe she is taking a chance but if everyone sits on their hands and do nothing there is no hope at all . Good for her !!!

4-11-2011 @ 5:10PM

Cats said...

I very much admire her love and courage but eventually, a bad egg who doesn't want to turn around will victimize her. Many of them do awful things to their own family members and have no regret. I wish her the best, she truly is a hero in every sense of the word.

4-11-2011 @ 5:14PM

Rick said...

To say George is overly idealistic is an understatement, but he really needs to take off those rosy glasses. Kudos to this lady, but like neesee says, the incorrigible demographic within this group will even kill family members for gain or imagined slights. It's like repeatedly crawling into the tiger cage at a zoo -- it's just a matter of time before one attacks..

4-11-2011 @ 5:25PM

red said...

She opened a center. SHe should be commended for her actions. No one else wants to be bothered and what she is doing is saving kids from going to jail or being shot dead.

4-11-2011 @ 5:33PM

Christine said...

God Bless her and her efforts. I worked with juveniles in th Dept of Correction, and alot of them were gang members.I could go into great detail about their upbringing, but, they need someone to beleive in them, they need someone to take interest in them, and to know nothing they want to be is impossible, if it is within their realm of capability. They need people to care as she does. If I lived close I'd help her out myself.

4-12-2011 @ 1:13AM

cpneno9221 said...

People are confusing craziness with bravery. This woman is brave. She is taking on dangerous people but ya know what at least someone is. A lot of these young people joined gangs for survival purposes and now she is trying to break them out of that to show them there is another way. She is one brave women, so strong and inspiring. I hope those troubled kids, teens achieve their goals and dreams.

4-11-2011 @ 5:47PM

DC said...

For neesee said I see your intelligence level is low as well as your self esteem. Any common sense at all on your behalf would be ranked low. Ms. Diane is not a hero she is a true leader. Those that don't know she is a true leader. A leader don't just speak on topics and be negative and judgmental about serious everyday issues. A leader lead by example putting his or her actions into play. A leader do things with heart because a mouth is known to say anything. But apparently you wouldn't know anything about that. So that makes you a follower of this negative stereotypical society. May the Lord bless her heart in many ways and protect her from ignorance in this world.

4-11-2011 @ 6:03PM

Soldier4God said...

seems like a caring, but a daring thing to do. i really hope and pray that they not only do her no harm, but that they protect her fron the others. it is not often gang members understand the good that people do for them, but this should touch some of their hearts and heal some of their minds. I for One tried to help gangs through advice and offered them an alternative through my writes at home and on the internet, but somehow those individuals that took from my OneGodMinistries just distributed the wealth amongst themselves and left me to the dogs. I openly and honestly include everyone involved in this as being bad news to any individual assisting them. I can not even omit OPBAMA and his affiliates and all the other presidents and their associates that participated in this. Good Luck Grandma! Good thing they are coming on your turf and you are not going into theirs!

cassandstewa said...

Rick sounds like the typical sheltered coward that views the world from his den or his basement tv. The demographic he speaks of is a racist code word for brown or black people that he clearly knows nothing about. Nobody from the world I came from has any "rosy glasses". The view from down there is crystal clear. I was one of these kids from the "incorrigible demographic". If you knew what you were talking about; you would realize that she is safer among the "demographic" than she would be living across the street from you in Hateville.

4-11-2011 @ 6:23PM

neesee..........One who IS holier than thou or me said: ' A fool says in his heart there is no God'

4-11-2011 @ 6:31PM

saannie said...

good for her, it just goes to show us that one person can make a difference. We need more people like her in the world. Sometimes I feel like some young people just need someone to show that they care about them and give them some hope. God bless her in her service to helping these kids.

4-11-2011 @ 6:27PM

Jane said...

I applaud what she is trying to do, but this story reminds me of a case where an old lady let the local kids come into her home to hear her talk about the Lord and four teenage girls brutally murdered her. This was in Gary, Indiana. It's not worth risking your life for. Especially if you have kids and grandkids coming to visit you and these thugs are hanging around. I wouldn't put my family in jeopardy.

4-11-2011 @ 6:39PM

Albert said...

She is so stupid but then again she is an Obama type person. When I was growing up, we never heard of these people and had our own parties where kids in the neighborhood were invited but never had to worry about other kids being criminals.

4-11-2011 @ 7:40PM

Roy said...

Interesting dialogue about this woman. I think if you lived in a high risk community, as I do, and you dealt with "at risk" youth on a day to day basis and you had a sense of social obligation, you would indeed find a way to do outreach. This woman is a brave soul to open her door and if she reads this, I commend you. She has a mission in life that makes her engage. I live in Harlem (NYC) and my "hood" is no joke. I have my share of stories and they are not always so pleasant. Some involve gang fights and murders of youth for something as small as being "disrespected".. I too, do outreach involving and engaging youth in the community. Turn one youth around and you will understand you made a difierence in life. Someone must care. What future do we all have if we don't? Hillary was right when she said it takes a village,.

4-11-2011 @ 7:48PM

to cassandstewa: No, I'm not a sheltered, racist coward. I feel you misread my comment. I never said people living in bad neighborhoods wear rosy glasses - I said that George did. As for the quick racist tag you slurred me with - the demographic I was referring to was gang members (check the story - it's what the article is about), and as a subset, the incorrigible ones within that demographic. It wasn't code for anything. Sorry I didn't articulate that better.

Hot on HuffPost Parents:

Grandma Invites Chicago Gang Members Inside for Serving of Hope