Parents look to B-360 dirt bike program as a safe outlet for children

By Ariyana Griffin

Eager to find safe enrichment activities during hectic summer months, some parents have turned to B360, a nonprofit organization that offers STEM education to neighborhood youth who enjoy a Baltimore City pastime – dirt bike riding.

B360 founder Brittany Young recalled the Freddie Gray uprising in 2015 that confounded Baltimore communities. In the aftermath, she noticed the availability of STEM jobs and programs, while bike riders were being targeted in the community and incarcerated for nonviolent offenses.

“It was the Freddie Gray uprising, and people were going to jail for nonviolent offenses, specifically dirt bikes,” she said. “So we made that dirt bike task force, and I was like, we can do programming. I also lost my little brother to the prison system when he was a youth. So I wanted to make sure that no matter if it was dirt bikes, whether it was science, that we found ways to engage young people and to show the best and brightest of Baltimore.”

B360, started to create a safe haven for the community, teaches young riders how to operate bikes safely and how to work on the bikes while providing them with tutoring and STEM resources. Young said it provides a place for the youth to explore the freedom that comes with riding, but also encourages community members to become teachers.

Young hosted an annual summer camp for students to participate and learn proper safety procedures at Boeck Recreational Center, which was reopened three years ago for the first time in 20 years by Mayor Brandon Scott.

Young said she has employed 67 former street riders to work at B360. They also work closely with law enforcement to help lower the amount of nonviolent arrests related to riding.

“A lot of the youth in Baltimore city look at dirt bikes as an outlet for a lot of things,” said Treasure Tremble, a senior instructor with B360. “Anger management, mental health, things like that. Coming to ride can be a huge outlet for them, but it needs to be in a way where everybody can be kept safe, and B360 provides that.”

Young said over 9,500 youth have been involved with the program. Parents say it provides a safe environment for their children.

“My son has been attending it for two years now, and he's learning some great techniques as far as science and technology,” said Latrice Weeks, a mother of a 13-year old boy.

“Plus, it's good for our boys to have something to preoccupy them through the summer. And they're safe. At least we know where they are.”

Other parents noticed that the program has helped their child in other ways, such as confidence.

Richard McCarter shared that his brother is an instructor with the organization. He never hesitated to allow his 6 year-old to participate in the lessons because his family has experienced bike culture.

His son, however, was a little nervous starting out.

“One of the first times he got on the bike, he was crying before he got on the bike and nervous but he watched one of the other kids get on the bike,” McCarter said. “Then when he came to me, he said, ‘Dad, I really want to try.’ I said, ‘Yeah, sometimes you're scared you have to go ahead and try anyway.’ And after he tried he came back to me and said, ‘I'm so happy I tried.’ So, yeah, that was definitely confidence gained.”

The program held its annual summer camp where youth learned to ride bikes, repair parts, as well as take field trips around the city.

To learn how to get more involved visit B360.org.

Ariyana Griffin is a freelance writer studying journalism at Morgan State University.