The Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation Department’s Safe Haven week takes place October 5 – 10. One of the purposes of this annual event is to allow the community to walk through Safe Haven sites to learn more about the free, supervised after-school programs offered by the Parks & Recreation Department. Open houses will be held at 6 – 7 pm at the following locations:

October 5: McMillen Park Community Center, 3901 Abbott St.

October 6: Weisser Park Youth Center, 809 Eckart St.

October 7: Cooper Community Center, 2300 Clinton and Creighton

October 8: Jennings Recreation Center, 1330 McCulloch St.

Safe Haven week culminates with a youth basketball tournament which begins on Friday, October 9 at 6 pm and continues all day Saturday at McMillen Park Community Center. The tourney is open to 6th – 12th grades. Competitive teams from Fort Wayne and the Midwest, including some of the best basketball players in the area, will be participating. The team participation fee is $125 and each team will be guaranteed 3 games. The registration deadline is September 25th. Please contact Alicia O’Neal at 260-427-2420, or Michael Ayers at 260-479-8588, to register. Proceeds from the basketball tourney will support the Jennings Recreation Scholarship Fund.

Other Safe Haven sites are located at: Boys & Girls Clubs of Fort Wayne, Eagles Nest Youth Center, the Euell A. Wilson Community Center, the Fort Wayne Urban League, Greater Progressive Family Life Center and Prime Time Community Center.

For more information about the basketball tournament, safe havens and how to get involved, please contact Alicia O’Neal at 260-427-2420.