Kids Off The Block

Kids Off The Block (KOB) is a community youth organization founded in 2003 by Diane Latiker in Chicago's West Pullman neighborhood. It began when Latiker opened her home to local young people and created a safe setting where they could receive guidance, spend time constructively, and discuss the challenges affecting their lives. The organization focuses primarily on youth, teens, and young adults between the ages of 12 and 24, particularly those living in low-income communities and facing exposure to gangs, drugs, violence, truancy, or the juvenile justice system. KOB's work combines direct youth development with practical support. Its activities have included tutoring and mentoring, music, drama, sports, community service, cultural arts, health and fitness, nutrition, job-readiness assistance, GED preparation, and local or out-of-town travel. The organization also provides a supervised place for young people to gather, helping replace unstructured street activity with positive relationships, learning opportunities, and constructive goals. Its programming was shaped in part by Latiker's conversations with young people in Roseland about their concerns and ambitions. The organization started with approximately ten children and later reported serving more than 2,000 participants. KOB also developed a public memorial to young people killed by gun violence in Chicago. Established in 2007 at a site on South Michigan Avenue, the memorial used individual stones to represent victims; descriptions of the memorial have counted more than 600 stones. The memorial functioned both as a place of remembrance and as a public appeal for stronger community action on youth violence. KOB's community work has involved relationships with local safety, faith-based, health, social-service, and civic organizations, including Roseland Safety Networks, Chicago's Community Assistance Programs, St. John Missionary Baptist Church, the Nehemiah Restoration Coalition, the Illinois Healthcare Consortium, Phalanx Family Services, World Vision, and the Greater Roseland Chamber of Commerce. Diane Latiker's advocacy for young people brought the organization wider public attention, including her recognition as one of CNN's 2011 Heroes of the Year. KOB is best understood as a neighborhood-based nonprofit and youth-services organization rather than a consumer-products brand.

Kids Off The Block was established in 2003 by Diane Latiker in Chicago. Latiker, a mother of eight, began by opening her home to neighborhood youth who needed supervision, encouragement, and alternatives to the pressures of street life. Her early conversations with young people in Roseland helped shape the organization's approach. She found that many participants had stopped imagining positive futures for themselves, which led her to emphasize practical support, personal relationships, and opportunities that could restore confidence and direction. The organization initially served about ten children and developed into a broader youth-support effort for people aged approximately 12 to 24. Its activities have included homework assistance, tutoring, mentoring, music, drama, sports, community service, cultural arts, health and nutrition programs, job readiness, GED preparation, and local and out-of-town travel. These programs are designed to give young people a safe place to spend time while also addressing educational, social, health, and employment needs. KOB's stated purpose is to provide positive alternatives to gangs, drugs, truancy, violence, and the juvenile justice system rather than treating youth only through punitive interventions. A major part of KOB's public identity is its memorial to young people killed by gun violence. Latiker created the memorial in 2007 at 11627 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago's West Pullman area. The memorial consists of stones representing victims and was intended to make the scale of youth gun violence visible while encouraging residents and public officials to respond. Accounts of the site have described more than 600 stones. The memorial therefore operates both as a remembrance space and as an extension of the organization's violence-prevention mission. KOB has worked with community, faith, safety, health, and social-service groups, including Roseland Safety Networks, Community Assistance Programs, St. John Missionary Baptist Church, the Nehemiah Restoration Coalition, the Illinois Healthcare Consortium, Phalanx Family Services, World Vision, and the Greater Roseland Chamber of Commerce. These relationships reflect the organization's locally embedded model, in which youth services are connected to wider neighborhood networks. The organization and its founder later attracted national attention. Diane Latiker was selected as one of CNN's 2011 Heroes of the Year, highlighting her role as an advocate for Chicago youth. By 2012, published descriptions stated that KOB had assisted more than 2,000 young people since its creation. Available reference material does not establish a later leadership transition, legal restructuring, funding history, or a precise current operating scale. KOB is a nonprofit community organization and memorial initiative, not an apparel or consumer-goods company.

1. 2012More than 2,000 participants reported

   Contemporary descriptions reported that KOB had assisted more than 2,000 young people since its founding.

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2. 2011Founder recognized by CNN Heroes

   Diane Latiker was named one of CNN's Heroes of the Year for her youth and community work.

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3. 2007Gun-violence memorial established

   KOB established a stone memorial on South Michigan Avenue honoring young people killed by gun violence in Chicago.

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4. 2003Organization founded

   Diane Latiker founded Kids Off The Block in Chicago after opening her home to neighborhood youth and developing programs intended to provide safe, constructive alternatives to street involvement.

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A neighborhood-based youth-development and violence-prevention organization offering practical support, mentoring, enrichment, and a safe community environment for young people in Chicago.

• Tutoring and mentoringYouth education and support2003

  KOB provides homework assistance, tutoring, mentoring, and related educational support for youth and young adults. The programs are intended to improve engagement with school, strengthen relationships with trusted adults, and offer alternatives to truancy and street activity.

• Arts, music, drama, and cultural programsYouth enrichment

  Music, drama, and cultural-arts activities give participants creative outlets and structured opportunities for self-expression. These programs form part of KOB's broader effort to help young people develop interests, confidence, and positive peer networks.

• Sports, health, and nutritionHealth and recreation

  Sports, fitness, health, and nutrition activities provide recreation while addressing physical well-being. They are delivered as part of the organization's safe-place and youth-development programming.

• Job readiness and GED preparationEmployment and adult education

  KOB's employment and education support includes job-readiness activities and preparation for the General Educational Development examination, helping older participants pursue work or alternative educational pathways.

• Gun-violence memorialMemorial and advocacy2007

  The memorial uses individual stones to honor young people killed by gun violence in Chicago. It serves as a public remembrance site and an advocacy tool intended to draw attention to the effects of violence on local families and communities.

• 2012Kids Off The Block expands youth support from a home-based effort

  By 2012, the organization was reported to have assisted more than 2,000 young people since its founding and to be providing a broad set of educational, cultural, recreational, and employment-oriented programs.

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• 2011Diane Latiker recognized among CNN Heroes of the Year

  Kids Off The Block founder Diane Latiker received national recognition as one of CNN's Heroes of the Year for her work supporting young people and addressing community violence.

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1. Kids Off the Block
2. Kids Off The Block official website