CINCINNATI (WXIX) - An after-school program in Over-the-Rhine is working to educate kids while keeping them safe.

Data shows crime is up in OTR this year compared with this time last year.

Serving youth in OTR since 2003 as an after-school program and community center, Wesley Chapel Mission Center has grown but so has the need, especially for youth.

“You know they say that with age comes wisdom, but with many of these kids, many not all of them, many of them are aging with the absence of wisdom,” said Kevin Corey, Executive Director of the Wesley Chapel Mission Center. “They’re being stagnated, they’re also aging without the parental guidance. ”

Corey says their free after-school program is an educational tool for youth in the area, but it’s also a beacon of hope for their future.

“We

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