Baltimore, MD — Members of Baltimore’s Coach G Academy Fatal Attraction Step team took time from their busy week to say thank you to the Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. Baltimore Penn North neighborhood Safe Streets team.
Penn North is where the team’s coach, Geri McCarter, and many of her step team members live. Fatal Attraction is among the community/high school-level step teams competing in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association 2022 (CIAA) Stepshow Stepoff. Presented by McDonald’s, the Stepoff is a community/high school team competition taking place as part of the CIAA Basketball Tournament in Baltimore. McCarter said the Penn North Safe Streets team’s encouragement, rides to events, and day-to-day support in the neighborhood have been key to her team’s success.
McCarter, who mastered the art in college as a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., teaches step to youth as part of her work to empower them with confidence, leadership abilities, and conflict resolution skills.
Safe Streets works as a public health approach to reducing shootings and homicides in communities in Baltimore City. The program is staffed by adults who were formerly justice-involved, which lends to their credibility and ability to establish relationships and build rapport to change behaviors and norms of individuals, including those with backgrounds similar to theirs.
