CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – More than 1,000 children took a pledge against gun violence at 20 recreation centers in Cleveland.

Joe Wise has been the youth coach at Michael J. Zone for over a decade.

“We had some young guys who saw the deaths firsthand,” Coach Joe said. “You’ve seen people get shot, you’ve witnessed someone shooting at someone they were with, and you’ve been shot at because you were with them. “You go through this and now you tell other kids the story that this is not a place to go.”

Unfortunately, in Cleveland, children are not only victims of gun violence, but also perpetrators. The 19 Solutions team looked at how after-school programs at local recreation centers could keep kids off the streets.

For Coach Joe, it’s all about the kids. If they spend their free time in the city’s after-school programs, he says, they’ll find themselves on the basketball court instead of juvenile court.

“You have time to eat, stretch and sleep and that’s what we talk about when they drop me off, some people are shy to say I love you,” Coach Joe explained. “I’ll say it first, you know.”

Savonte Quarles, 20, started coming to the Zone when he was 10 years old. His life changed when he met Coach Joe.

“He saw me play once and then he saw the goodness in me working every day, every time I came here we formed a bond,” Quarles said.

Quarles is just one of many success stories. He currently plays college basketball at Tri-C.

“Joe pushed me all the way, even though I didn’t want to be pushed, like he picked me up from school, took me home, fed me after practice,” Quarles explained. “Many children today do not have a role model to look up to; The first things to do are to jump out on the streets, not to go to school, not to have anything good for themselves. So I think this is really important. “We need to get more children involved.”

Right behind him is 17-year-old Seydou Dijio. Standing 6’8 tall, he has big dreams of playing in the NBA. Dijio says Joe keeps him on track and makes sure he doesn’t miss any homework.

“You always had to go to Joe, Joe will tell you the right thing to do, so it was never really hard for me to get into bad things when Joe was around,” Dijio explained.

Coach Joe says his door is always open to kids who are in the wrong group.

“In a world where no one cares, here’s someone who cares, I care,” Coach Joe said. “I had a wonderful father and mother and a family foundation that supported me. So I want every young child to have the right teachers and the right coaching, no matter the demographics of where they live, no matter how much money they have in their household.”

All programs at Cleveland’s recreation centers are fully free.

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