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Livability <br />Safer Neighborhoods <br />Safety was a top rated concern for residents of Ramsey (cite <br />survey). Recreation services can be used to provide youth with <br />positive ways to fill out -of -school time and reduce their risk <br />to commit a crime. The department can service students by <br />providing a safe place to go and engage in stimulating activities <br />when school is not in session. Recreation programs can help <br />staff ensure parks and public spaces are properly maintained <br />for safe use and provide an additional figure outside of home <br />and school for developing youth to look up to. <br />Youth who participate in extracurricular activities are more <br />likely than non -participants to have higher self-esteem, <br />greater academic achievement and in turn, lower incidences <br />of delinquency. Furthermore, at -risk youths have been found <br />to especially benefit from guided recreation programming. <br />Data has also shown that students who reported spending no <br />time in after -school extracurricular activities were 57 percent <br />more likely to drop out of high school, 49 percent more likely <br />to use drugs and 27 percent more likely to have been arrested <br />than students who spend as much as four hours in structured <br />activities. Park and recreation agencies have the ability to <br />provide the programs that can address the root causes of <br />juvenile crime. Because the types of leisure in which youth <br />participate have profound impacts on social development, <br />active and adult -supervised recreation programming available <br />through park agencies are positioned perfectly to equip youth <br />with the tools that develop positive social and cognitive skills, <br />self-confidence and a sense of community (source in files). <br />In addition to the added value of safety that standard recreation <br />service provide, specific safety oriented programs can be <br />offered to further promote the City's safety initiatives. Examples <br />of these types of programs include partnerships with other <br />City Departments such as offering park space and facilities for <br />Safety Camp and Home Alone Safety classes. Other popular <br />safety -oriented programs include babysitting courses, First Aid <br />and CPR certifications, and water safety classes such as how to <br />kayak. <br />Community Pride and Identity <br />Public parks and recreation agencies ensure community <br />members have equal access to recreation opportunities, <br />regardless of gender, socioeconomic status, ability, ethnicity, <br />or age. Agencies have the ability to create community "buy -in" <br />and bring people together through nature (NRPA, 2017). Parks <br />and recreation systems foster social interactions by providing <br />34 I CITY OF RAMSEY PARK SYSTEM PLAN <br />