Iowa City’s Southeast Side has recently become a magnet for media attention. Violence, gang activity, and increased crime have sent the area into a tailspin.

One local group is trying to change that, starting with the kids.

The Spot youth center, 1030 Crosspark Ave., offers programs for kids from kindergarten to high school and tries to have a positive effect on their lives.

Doug Fern, the director of the facility and a UI alumnus, said many kids don’t have a positive place in their lives or don’t have somewhere they feel they’re accepted.

“That sense of not belonging contributes to the problems we are seeing now,” he said. “[The Spot] gives them something to be a part of and a place to belong.”

Dede Parker, a Spot volunteer for three years, said the kids are eager to be a part of the community the facility offers.

“Kids want to be here,” she said. “Every time I come to the building, kids are always at the door, even if there is no Spot that day. They ask if they can come in and help with anything. They really just want something to do with friendly people.”

The center depends on the support of volunteers such as Parker who act as positive role models and work to create meaningful relationships with the kids. A significant number of the center’s volunteers are UI students, and many of those are athletes, including players from the football and track teams.

Brandon Parker, a UI sophomore and the president of the UI Black Student Union, said he, along with 10 to 12 members of his organization, volunteer at the center on a weekly basis.

“A lot of the kids come from similar situations as our members,” Brandon Parker said. “What I want is for our members to become mentors for the children.”

For both Brandon Parker and Fern, that means doing more than spending only an hour per week with them. Both men said they encourage volunteers to get involved in kids’ lives. Whether that means calling them to see how they’re doing in school or taking them out to lunch, the goal is to show the kids there is someone out there who cares about them.

Dede Parker said she knows the value of such a mentorship.

“We sometimes go to their games or help mentor them and they are always excited to see us,” she said. “Not all these kids have strong support systems, so it makes them really happy to see consistent faces they can trust.”

The center’s activities include reading programs, open gym time, and events such as barbecues, which are also open to families. The facility also organizes seasonal events such as a community dinner around Thanksgiving.

Last winter, the center asked patrons of Parkview Church, which funds the program, to bring in presents and then sold them to parents in need at 10 cents on the dollar. Dede Parker said the center is also considering setting up a scholarship fund for college-bound students.

Brandon Parker laughed as he recalled some of his favorite memories from The Spot. He beamed as he told a story about a time when he took a student out to sushi for the first time, and the young man thought the sushi was dry and said it needed barbecue sauce.

He said even though he gets exhausted from playing with the kids, the time he spends there releases tension in him and gives him new perspective on life.

“It’s just good to see the children progress,” he said. “It changes my outlook. It makes me understand what’s really important.”

DI reporter Marleen Linares contributed to this report.