Community Building Through Park Activation

The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) is once again offering evening events twice a week through mid-April as part of the Parks After Dark (PAD) program. PAD brings communities together to enjoy various activities at 34 parks across the county. The spring edition of the program runs from March 23 through April 15, with nighttime events happening every Thursday and Saturday from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

PAD started in 2010 at three County parks and expanded to thirty-three parks in 2019. For an eight-week period each summer, PAD extends hours of park operation from 6:00 to 9:00 pm at participating parks. The program offers family entertainment (like movies, concerts, arts and crafts, and free meals), sports and recreational activities (like swimming and dance), cultural and educational programming (like healthy cooking and financial literacy classes), and employment and volunteer opportunities for youth and adults. PAD parks also host resource fairs through which public agencies and community-based organizations provide health, social, economic, and legal resources to participants. Throughout all events, deputies from the Sheriff’s Department patrol and engage in activities alongside participants, which help to ensure safety and foster positive interactions between law enforcement and community members.

The program outcomes and benefits of PAD are well-documented. In an evaluation brief published in July 2018, researchers from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research reported that:

• PAD programming like guided walking clubs, group exercise, team sports, and other physical activities helped to reduce costs for both the County of Los Angeles and the participants by reducing expenditures for treating chronic diseases. The report estimated savings of $1.1 million for 2017.
• PAD’s safety efforts prevented 41 violent crimes and almost 480 nonviolent crimes in neighborhoods near County parks between 2010 and 2017. The reduction in crime saved the County about $2.2 million in criminal justice costs in 2017 alone.
• New initiatives added to the program in 2017 provided participants with easier ways to access mental health services, as well as valuable gang intervention and other activities for at-risk youth and young adults. In 2017, PAD employed about 50 youth and young adults, including teens for whom the experience was their first job, and over 300 youth volunteered through the program.
• As in previous years, concerts and movie nights remained PAD’s most popular offerings.

To serve children and families during school breaks, DPR launched the first ever winter edition of PAD in December 2018 and a spring edition in March 2019 with free programs and events for all to enjoy. In addition to sports and movies, the winter PAD offered holiday-themed programming and snow days. The Spring PAD included fun activities like community gardening, color run/walks, paint nights, and silent dancing.