San Antonio Red Youth Center<\/a>, said the program is built around meeting kids where they are when they arrive.<\/p>\n\u201cWe don\u2019t know what the kids have been through today. We don\u2019t know what they\u2019ve seen or heard. So we have to be respectful of that,\u201d Mouton said.<\/p>\n
Mouton said he understands the impact of after-school programs firsthand because he grew up in one.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw real men pour into me when they didn\u2019t have to. And they provided opportunities for me to be respectful. So I feel obligated to do the same,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Kids at the center described a mix of food, activities and time with friends as part of what keeps them coming back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to pay video games I like the snacks. I like the sports. I like the food. I like the milk,\u201d said Bryton Ramiez.<\/p>\n
For older students, the center is also a place to unwind after school.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like that I can like socialize and just hang out, listen to music. I don\u2019t have to do chores at my house. I can be lazy,\u201d said Chantel Casanova, an eighth-grader.<\/p>\n
Andalucia Canne said the atmosphere is what stands out most.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone\u2019s nice. The food is delicious, obviously. Just in general, I like being here. It\u2019s a nice fun place to relax and enjoy being with my friends,\u201d Canne said.<\/p>\n
Mouton said many of the children who come through the doors are dealing with difficult circumstances outside the program.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen many kids come from troubled backgrounds. A lot of our kids come from shelters. We get an opportunity to give them a space that\u2019s common to kids we believe. A safe place to have fun in an effective way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The center\u2019s impact extends to the adults who work there, too. Teresita Torres, a youth development professional, said she once spent time at the Salvation Army shelter and later found stability \u2014 and a job \u2014 through the organization. Her roles can include driving a bus or helping coach girls on Tuesdays.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they\u2019ve impacted my life a lot more than I even know,\u201d Torres said. \u201cThey\u2019ve helped me personally, but also being the helping hand to families, recommending other families to come here.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO – As school lets out in San Antonio, buses pull up just after 3 p.m. and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":252961,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[82,84,83],"class_list":{"0":"post-252960","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-san-antonio","9":"tag-san-antonio-headlines","10":"tag-san-antonio-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252960\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}