In Chicago, the heated months of June through September are frequently filled with the sounds of children playing in the streets, fireworks, and the hum of music from block parties and festivals permeating every corner of the city. Summertime Chi is a moment of rejuvenation and joy in the Windy City. However, for many young people, there is also an increased vulnerability throughout Chicago’s underserved neighborhoods. The city’s south and west sides have historically experienced a spike in violence during the summer months, due in part to the lack of safe, public community spaces for youth, although it is noteworthy that “violent crime” is down nearly 1.5 percent from June 2022, according to data from the Chicago Police Department. Solutions for violence disruption often fall on the shoulders of politicians and policymakers, but one youth baseball league is tackling the issue through the power of organized sports, as highlighted in an upcoming documentary.
LaVonte Stewart, the founding executive director of Lost Boyz Inc., started the organization in 2008. The team was originally composed of only boys, many of whom lived in South Shore, where they practiced. As a coach and mentor, Stewart noticed that the children he worked with were frequently exposed to violence, but that many of them seemed desensitized to communal trauma.
The importance of the Lost Boyz exceeds that of extracurricular sports; it serves as a haven for participants, a majority of whom are Black youth. It didn’t take Stewart long to realize the positive impact of mentorship and structure to young people, and he was moved to expand the work of the organization. Since its launch, Lost Boyz Inc. has opened the team up to girls, and today the organization serves South Shore residents ages 4–24. In the fall of 2019, they added two additional baseball teams based in the predominantly Latine neighborhoods of Pilsen and Humboldt Park.
Growing up around a large extended family, Stewart understood firsthand the significance of being cared for by the community. “I had two parents who really valued the importance of education, and that played a significant part in my upbringing,” he says. Although organized sports are the foundation of Lost Boyz, Stewart says the approach to serving youth is multifaceted. The staff don’t just coach practice and games, but build authentic relationships with the youth they oversee, and maintain those connections as they transition into adulthood.
Program manager Jo McAllister is one of several people within the organization who works closely with participants, some of whom are young adults. She says she was drawn to the work through her own experiences growing up. “I remember I was one of them at one point; I remember having mentors and adults who actually really cared and never gave up on me.”
The Lost Boyz often come to McAllister for grievances amongst team members, which allows her to model conflict resolution behavior. Although she is only 26 years old, McAlllister says her age awards her credibility with teammates because they can relate to her advice and constructive criticism. She also works on building up basic social and emotional learning skills, which is a foundational value of the organization.
Lost Boyz has a program called Successful Youth Leaders (SYL) in which they engage young people in social and emotional learning, financial literacy, and academic support. McAllister says part of their work is discussing college options for the high school juniors and seniors on the team. The SYL program also promotes personal responsibility by offering financial compensation for performing duties related to the organization, under adult supervision.
Additionally, there are behavioral groups centered on social and emotional learning, specifically how to regulate emotions. “They’re at-risk youth for a reason,” says McAllister. “If you work with at-risk youth, then you know they don’t always automatically listen or follow rules; they aren’t always going to be able to emotionally regulate themselves.” This is partly why Lost Boyz has been so successful; their approach to learning is rooted in empathy.
Contrary to popular belief, McCallister says that leading with a heavy hand doesn’t always provide the results that people think it will with young people. “LaVonte leads with a lot of compassion,” says McCallister as she reflects on her role within the organization. “He said something that I’ll never forget—he asked me, ‘How is somebody supposed to understand and grow from a mistake if you get rid of them the first time they make a mistake?’”
It’s Stewart’s compassion that caught the attention of local filmmaker Thane Montgomery, who is directing a documentary on Lost Boyz called South Shore Summer. During the 2020 uprisings, Montgomery was shooting a short series on grassroots organizing efforts throughout the country. Inspired by the local activism in Chicago, he reconnected with longtime friend Stewart—though the opportunity to film the documentary didn’t come to fruition until April 2023.
Lost Boyz Inc.
1818 East 71st
773-245-6804
lostboyzinc.org
South Shore Summer coming in 2024
instagram.com/southshoresummerfilm
Before commencing filming, however, Montgomery wanted to be sure he built trust with staff and team members. He knew it was important that he execute the documentary with care, especially having roots in Chicago and understanding the complexities of conversations around violence disruption.
“The film is really a coming-of-age story,” says Montgomery. “South Shore Summer is about understanding what it’s like for these kids in the summertime, growing up in Chicago, building relationships with one another, and enjoying the weather in a protected environment.”
Because media outlets frequently fixate on negative coverage of Chicago, Montgomery intentionally sheds light on the “everyday happiness” that young Black and Brown children experience. “The kids have ups and downs and struggles like everyone else—but there are also moments of pure childhood joy,” he says. The crew wrapped shooting in August and the documentary is tentatively set to be released in 2024.
In the meantime, Lost Boyz Inc. continues to set the precedent for holistic ways to invest in young people and disrupt intercommunal violence. “I don’t want to simplify something so complicated and layered,” says Stewart when talking about gun violence in Chicago, “but there is an African proverb that says something like, a child who is not embraced by the community will burn down the village to feel its warmth.” Lost Boyz Inc. aims to be the warmth in a city where so many children seek out their own villages.