Youth program expansion in Tampa, response to proposed curfew for teens

TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Police Department is working with Tampa Parks and Recreation to expand one of its youth programs.

The effort is a response to a proposed curfew in the city of Tampa for teenagers under 16 years old and calls for the expansion of resources for kids and teens.

With the help of a state grant, the Tampa Police Department is working to put $280,000 towards expanding youth programs, including the "Stay and Play" program.

Tampa Parks and Recreation is also working to put more funding towards the expansion of this program.

The "Stay and Play" program works in conjunction with other year-round programs, and is focused on reaching kids and teens when they’re not in school.

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"Whether it's gaming, whether it's athletic competition, arts, cooking, all kinds of activities to engage and keep people out of trouble," Parks and Recreation Director Tony Mulkey said.

The additional funding helps expand the hours of the program, in addition to the resources and activities offered through the program.

Parks and Recreation officials say the "Stay and Play" program currently runs seven days a week during the summer and during school breaks.

Mulkey says the funding would help them expand the hours of the program until midnight during the summer and on school breaks. It currently operates until 10 p.m. during school breaks and 11 p.m. during the summer.

He says the program operates at nine city park locations during the summer, and at four locations during school breaks.

"If we can keep them in these programs and keep them engaged, they'll eventually become the mentors," Mulkey said.

Demaurion "Duke" Neal, 19, first joined the program when he was around 11 years old.

Pictured: Demaurion "Duke" Neal

"I just wanted to get out the house," Neal said. "It was like, times where I'll be on the game, but, you don't want to always be in the game, so I’ve got to get outside. There’s not stuff to do outside in the neighborhood."

He says his mom signed him up, and he started going to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Complex in West Tampa.

"I was like, ‘Oh, this coach is cool’," Neal said. "Trying to like, play with them because I was already cooking them in basketball and stuff."

Neal is now 19 years old, and he’s still involved with the program and a lot of the younger kids. He’s in his first year of college and has become a mentor, himself.

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"This neighborhood, it’s a good neighborhood," Neal said. "But there are things in this neighborhood that not every kid wants to follow. You want to go a different path. If you’re from this neighborhood, you're trying to get out of this neighborhood. So being here, it was like a way out. It was like, I can come here and be a kid."

Neal sees his younger self in a lot of the kids who come to the recreation complex now, and says programs like this have helped give him that way out.

"Not everybody from this place, they don't make it every time. They’re not able to go to certain places. But from a young age, they were teaching that you can go somewhere. If you're good at this sport, you can play this, you can go this level. This sport, this good, this level. If you’re good at arts and crafts, you can take arts and crafts to the next level, or design or anything. You can take all of that to the next level and pursue that in life," explained Neal.

Funding to expand the "Stay and Play" program would go towards programming and administrative and police expenses.

To find more information about the program and how to fill out a waiver for children to join, click here.

Tampa City Council is expected to vote on the proposed curfew on Thursday.