"CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE," Kids Off the Block Works for Chicago's Youth
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's a story you have heard way too many times. A young person's life cut short because of gun violence on the streets of Chicago. So far this year, there have been 148 people killed in the city. The majority of those deaths are the result of gun violence, and a majority of the victims are young, black, and male. That's exactly who Diane Latiker is trying to save. I met her a decade ago, an encounter that has always stayed with me. You'll see yourself, quickly why she is what we're calling a "CHAMPION FOR CHANGE," a part of CNN's week-long series revisiting some of the people making a real impact. Take a look.</s>BOLDUAN (voice-over): When I first met Diane, the Supreme Court was about to hear a case, a landmark case having to do with Chicago's handgun ban.</s>DIANE LATIKER, FOUNDER, KIDS OFF THE BLOCK: If you would stay here two days, you realize our young people are looking backwards at every car because of drive-bys.</s>BOLDUAN: When Diane opened up her own home to start the nonprofit Kids Off the Block, she was fighting to stem the tide of gang activity in her neighborhood. (on camera): I came here to Chicago to talk to some of the people who are most affected by gun violence. I know how much my life has changed in the almost 10 years since we first met. I'm interested to see what's changed for Diane. There she is. How are you? I mean, you haven't aged a day.</s>LATIKER: So good to see you.</s>BOLDUAN: So good to see you.</s>LATIKER: I'm surprised you're able to remember me.</s>BOLDUAN: Are you kidding? As I was saying, you leave a mark.</s>LATIKER: Want to go in?</s>BOLDUAN: I would love to. Diane, Diane, Diane, Diane. Tell me again, why did you first open your doors?</s>LATIKER: I realized that they were failing in school and needed help. The gangs were trying to recruit the boys and stuff. And I'm like, me, what am I going to do? You know.</s>BOLDUAN: What do you do?</s>LATIKER: What do I do? But I sold the tv and bought some computers and started helping with homework. It's about a program like tutoring and mentoring, conventional stuff, but it's not about a program. I want to know each kid.</s>BOLDUAN: Have there been moments when you thought, that's it. I can't.</s>LATIKER: Every day, every day, I will wake up, I quit. I'm not doing this, then somebody would call me, a kid or a young person walked in the door. And said this door wasn't open, I would be dead or in jail.</s>BOLDUAN (voice-over): Since 2003, thousands of kids have walked through this front door. Including Treviance Orr --</s>LATIKER: Hey, Tre.</s>BOLDUAN: -- who has been getting this same hug for almost that long. (on camera): What has she meant to you?</s>TREVIANCE ORR, GRAPHIC DESIGNER: A mother figure, definitely. Heart of gold, man.</s>BOLDUAN: What are you doing these days?</s>ORR: I graphic design.</s>BOLDUAN: Went to college?</s>ORR: Yes.</s>BOLDUAN: Got a job?</s>ORR: Yes.</s>BOLDUAN (voice-over): You can see the pride on Diane's face, but that disappears quickly when we drive through the neighborhood.</s>LATIKER: This is where four shootings happened in four days last week. And I knew the young people. Who did it and the young people who were shot.</s>BOLDUAN (on camera): Oh, my god.</s>LATIKER: Friday, one of the -- there's Tyrese. His brother was just killed. He was in my program.</s>BOLDUAN: I can see how another kid that age could so easily think, I have no future.</s>LATIKER: That's what they think. No hope. Can you blame them?</s>BOLDUAN (voice-over): Returning to the memorial Diane started, it does feel impossible to blame them. Each brick represents a young life lost to gun violence. (on camera): How many are in there now?</s>LATIKER: Two-hundred and one.</s>BOLDUAN: So there are 201 when I came.</s>BOLDUAN: How many are in there now, 800?</s>LATIKER: Seven something.</s>BOLDUAN: I never imagined it would be this big. I know that's naive to think.</s>LATIKER: I didn't either.</s>BOLDUAN: That makes me sad. Sorry. (voice-over): Diane isn't alone in her fight to save this community.</s>DOMINIQUE DAILY, VOLUNTEER, KIDS OF THE BLOCK: I'm from Roseland. I happened to get my bachelor's degree, where went on to get my master's degree, and I'm working right inside the community that I'm coming from.</s>BOLDUAN (on camera): What is Diane's influence been on your life?</s>DAILY: She has impacted my life tremendously. She has been a person to go to, a mentor. The most supportive person you could ever be around and be with.</s>BOLDUAN: You're in a doctoral program right now.</s>TASIA BRYSON, VOLUNTEER, KIDS OFF THE BLOCK: Yes.</s>BOLDUAN: How long have you been volunteering with Diane with Kids Off the Block?</s>BRYSON: It will be nine years in September.</s>DAILY: Eleven years. I started in 2008.</s>BOLDUAN: What are you teaching them?</s>BRYSON: Making up songs about long division, doing crazy dances. Anything to get them involved, relating science to everything.</s>BOLDUAN (voice-over): And soon, they'll have a lot more room to help a lot more kids.</s>LATIKER: First, it was a liquor store and then it was a restaurant. This is going to be the computer lab.</s>BOLDUAN: Diane is now turning this empty building next door to her home into a technology and entrepreneurial center.</s>LATIKER: I'm hoping it's open by when school starts in September.</s>BOLDUAN (on camera): This is the future.</s>LATIKER: The future.</s>BOLDUAN: What does the future look like?</s>LATIKER: The future looks like young people thriving, getting new skills and coming back with success stories. Oh, my god, I could see the possibilities in here.</s>BOLDUAN: Got it all figured out. Now we have to swing some hammers.</s>BOLDUAN: What I loved seeing is that Diane is finally getting the recognition that she deserves. She has a wall full of awards now in her home right now. So I'm excited to see now what she can do next with this kind of recognition. Of course, she says, for her, the only thing that matters are the people you met in the piece and also the hundreds of other lives she's touched. But, Diane, thank you so much for never giving up. All this week, we'll continue to share inspiring stories like this. And you can tune in this Saturday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, for an hour-long special called "CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE." Still ahead for us, as the trade war heats up, President Trump says the U.S. is in a, quote/unquote, "fantastic position" with China. Do American businesses who are on the front lines of the trade war feel the same? That's next.