Gun violence plagues Chicago. There were more than 2,000 shootings in the city last year alone. The shootings increase in the summer months: over the holiday weekend, dozens of people were shot and nine died in the gunfire. Beneath the sobering figures are personal stories, both of fear and resilience.
Part 3 in a series.
Diane Latiker's 13-year-old daughter and her friends had nothing to do and nowhere to hang out.
It was 12 years ago in Chicago. They were running wild in the neighborhood, and that was a problem: The parks weren't safe. Vacant lots and boarded-up buildings were no place for kids to spend free time.
Latiker decided to invite the children in and figure out what interested them. She wrote them corny rap songs to perform. She took them skating, swimming and to the movies. The kids had a blast.
The next week, three or four others showed up. Then two or three more.
"Within a couple of weeks we had 30 kids coming to the house," Latiker said.
Latiker, a former construction worker and cosmetologist and a mother of eight, saw an opportunity to make a difference for the community she had lived in for more than 20 years.
It started as an overcrowding problem. Now it's a full-time job.
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