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For more information about the upcoming YM360 camp, or to RSVP for a spot, call Takeyta Young 423-322-7397 or 423-752-4851.
Gloria Griffith was in her 60s when she started the Renaissance Presbyterian summer camp.
Despite being retired, the 68-year-old mother and grandmother worried about youth playing in the midst of crime, so she started the program anyway.
"There was nothing for the kids to do," Griffith said Wednesday while working at the camp.
For the past five years, she has organized the Renaissance Presbyterian Church camp, to provide Westside children with art classes, dance, food and field trips, including visits to the downtown public library, the Tennessee Aquarium and the IMAX.
Griffith's plan was to keep young people too busy to get into trouble.
Lately, however, her health has stood in the way of accomplishing that goal. She had a heart attack in March and deals with crippling arthritis.
And not only has her own health been a struggle, but her husband had open-heart surgery in December, another surgery in February, and her sister, Phyllis Thomas, who Griffith calls her right hand, battles a neurological disorder that keeps her in a wheelchair.
Griffith said she plans to end her participation in hosting the safe haven with a trip to Lake Winnepesaukah today.
The camp served up to 70 children ages 4 to 16.
But the community where she once lived isn't without hope, she said.
"I put out a plea," Griffith said.
The Chattanooga Housing Authority and a Birmingham-based church group answered her call. They will launch a new program for youth on Wednesday.
Generate, a Christ-centered camp, will provide a three-day program each week in July. The camp, called YM360, targets youth ages 4-11 and is similar to vacation Bible school. It will operate at the James A. Henry building. Housing authority employee Takeyta Young oversees the camp.
Griffith hopes she can find someone else to operate the Renaissance summer program next year. She says she may operate it herself if she is well enough and no one comes forward.
"At least they'll have something to do," she said.
Several youth said Griffith will be missed.
Chester Heathington, who plans to start Boy Scouts in the Westside this fall, called Griffith a lifeline to youth in the community.
Instead of being outside and available for trouble, youth in Griffith's camp have been swimming and participating in art classes, said 15-year-old Diamond McKinley.
"Children need to be involved in something. So it was great that she opened up this camp so that children could be involved and not out there starting mess," she said.
More than 80 percent of the population in the Westside live below the poverty level, according to citydata.com. The Chattanooga Comprehensive Gang Assessment published in 2012 lists the community as having one of the highest crime rates in the city.
"It kept me out of trouble," 16-year-old Antwain Monfort said of the camp. "The activities she comes up with, she's very creative."
Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.