West LA Times

A survey of attendees in 2023 found that 93% felt safe at Parks After Dark. Of attendees who did not meet the recommended activity guidelines for their age, 76% participated in at least one exercise or sports program at Parks After Dark. The vast majority of those surveyed expressed high levels of satisfaction, with 97% saying they would attend again.

Parks After Dark, a free Los Angeles County program providing a safe space primarily during evening hours, fosters stronger community feelings and closer neighbor connections, according to a report from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Ninety-six percent of people surveyed said that Parks After Dark provides a sense of belonging within their communities, and 94% said the program helped them get to know their neighbors better.

“Research shows that parks and public green spaces are crucial for health because they provide places for outdoor recreation and exercise,” said Nadereh Pourat, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research’s Health Economics and Evaluation Research Program, and the report’s lead author. “Parks After Dark is designed to increase safety of parks and provide programs that everyone can enjoy.”

The program had more than 405,000 unique visits throughout its eight-week run in summer 2023. Popular activities included movie nights, concerts, sports clinics, and games.

“I love what you guys do for the community and accept everybody individually and equally,” said one attendee at George Washington Carver Park.

Launched by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation in 2010 in neighborhoods with higher-than-average rates of crime, poverty, and obesity, Parks After Dark has grown from three parks to 34 by 2023. It expanded in 2022 to include one-day events around spring and winter school breaks.

Since its inception in 2010, there has been an estimated reduction of 74 serious crimes such as robbery and 43 nonviolent crimes like vandalism in participating parks and surrounding communities. In 2023, among participants surveyed who did not feel safe overall in their neighborhood, 64% reported feeling safe at Parks After Dark.

Safety was attributed to factors including the presence of L.A. County sheriff’s deputies, friendly park staff, good lighting —and community-based intervention workers particularly in the South Region. The report credits these workers with complementing deputies' presence where relationships between residents and law enforcement may be strained.

The program also had positive health impacts; among attendees not meeting recommended activity guidelines for their age group before attending Parks After Dark events, 72% engaged in physical activity during the program. This could potentially reduce stroke and ischemic heart disease rates significantly if maintained year-round—leading to an estimated $2.974 million savings associated with reduced disease burden in 2023.

“Our study highlights the importance of public investments in parks to improve health," Pourat stated.

In its fourteenth season as of summer 2023, new goals were set: expanding youth development opportunities while engaging more older adults through various programs such as senior social hours or aquatic experiences tailored towards family participation noted Norma Edith García-González (director).

The Youth at Work initiative provided paid work experience/training opportunities from July '22 - June '23 across thirty-four participating sites yielding over three hundred seventy placements offering professional skills training/customer service along potential long-term employment avenues via department roles.

Senior engagement saw success via established center programming activities alongside larger initiatives like senior dances complementing overall objectives aimed towards inclusive outreach efforts across demographics served within regional jurisdictions underlined via tailored recommendations based on evaluative data findings presented herein:

- Promoting safety combining sheriff deputy/community-based worker involvement

- Increasing diverse physical activity offerings appealing across varied age interests maximizing chronic disease impact mitigation potentials

- Ensuring staffing support planning ahead exploring youth employment/community volunteer opportunities

- Continuing tailored programming addressing local needs/desires ensuring responsiveness toward constituent populations