Olivia Gross Photo
Youth and Recreation Department Director Gwendolyn Williams and Olaf at the press conference.
A new bestseller just dropped at Lighthouse Point – the mayor’s 2022 Summer Youth Guide.
Headed to all public school families’ households, the 50-page book is jam-packed with information about events, camps, and experiences to keep young people busy this summer.
Mayor Justin Elicker and representatives from the New Haven Youth and Recreation Department (YARD), New Haven Public Schools, and the Police Activity League unveiled those summer plans at a press conference Friday held at Lighthouse Park.
Olivia Gross Photo
Mayor Elicker at Friday's presser.
There will be movies in the park, family fun days, academic enrichment programs, youth employment, organized sports, and a big concert in August, among other activities. Many of these are open to children with disabilities. Click here to read the full booklet.
In addition to these day activities, ten city camps will run from June 27-Aug. 12.
Older kids have plenty to do this summer as well. Youth@Work continues to employ 14 – 21 year-olds in New Haven with a range of jobs including most of these camps. The Police Activity League will continue this summer, meant to create steady relationships between campers and the New Haven police force. Officer Gene Trotman said that this program has been successful in recent years; he said that he wants kids to see him and other officers as human, as people who want to have fun with them.
The Youth Connect program aims to help students who may need assistance engaging in school and will focus on social justice, providing topics that students can get excited about and relate to on a personal level.
Family activities include open swim at Hillhouse High School from June 27-Aug. 5 and at Lighthouse Point Park weekdays beginning June 18 from 7 a.m. to sunset.
This will be a summer of firsts for some groups. The pilot Footsteps2Brilliance reading program will help students develop literacy skills digitally in both English and Spanish. An inaugural Youth Summit is planned for August, to enable students to engage with each other and talk about how they are doing with the state of the current political and social world.
School system Chief of Youth, Family, and Community Gemma Joseph Lumpkin looked proud as she listened to all that will be offered this summer. “No one can say there is nothing for our kids in New Haven,” she said. “Let’s get out there and get connected.”