San Diego Mayor Launches Come Play Outside Program

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Mayor Todd Gloria on Thursday kicked off the “Come Play Outside” summer program, inviting more than 15,000 children to participate in a “Summer for Us All” initiative.

The city and county, the San Diego Parks Foundation, and other foundations fund outdoor adventures, water activities, movies in the park, arts, and STEM and STEAM programs for ages 17 and under. (STEM refers to science, technology, and engineering; STEAM includes the arts.)

Summer programs have been organized to support and involve young people as the community emerges from a pandemic, Gloria said at a press conference at the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center.
The initiative will focus on underserved communities, including Southeast San Diego, City Heights and San Ysidro.

San Diego County provided $ 750,000 in funding from its Behavioral Health Department to support the program. County President Nathan Fletcher helped secure the donation. The county expects to serve more than 15,000 children this summer.

“Having a spirit of collaboration and cooperation between our city and the county government is going to solve so many different issues that we face,” said Fletcher of the importance of involving young people and helping them play.

Fletcher also stressed the importance of vaccinating San Diego residents. He said that as a parent he knew how difficult it was for children to deal with the pandemic, but he encouraged people to protect themselves.

JoAnn Fields, Acting Chair of the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Advisory Group, said these programs are for “all of us” and “communities of color are included”.

Sandy Mueller, senior director of behavioral health services at Rady Children’s Hospital, spoke about the importance for children to be active as the number of young people with mental health problems increases. She said children isolated during the pandemic suffered a loss of social skills and an increase in mental health problems.

Fletcher added that exiting the pandemic is not just about economic recovery, but also children’s physical and mental recovery.

“One thing about the pandemic is that it has really taught us where the need really is,” said board member Monica Montgomery Steppe.

Michel Anderson, president of the San Diego Parks Foundation, said his only message to families was to “get out.” In partnership with the mayor and the county, he said they were focusing on communities of concern. The foundation wants families to take advantage of the parks, beaches, and the many programs San Diego has to offer.

Twenty-one recreational and aquatic centers will be used for summer programming. Parents can enroll their children online with programs ranging from $ 10 to $ 100. Places are available until the end of August.

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