{"id":2429,"date":"2026-06-29T11:32:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T11:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2429"},"modified":"2026-06-29T11:32:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T11:32:39","slug":"with-teen-takeovers-on-the-rise-charlotte-youth-organizations-find-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2429","title":{"rendered":"With \u2018teen takeovers\u2019 on the rise, Charlotte youth organizations find solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Concerns about the rise of \u201cteen takeover\u201d events in cities across the country \u2014 including one such instance<\/a> uptown on June 20 \u2014 have prompted increased police activity and stricter curfew enforcement in Charlotte.<\/p>\n

Read more $500M Dilworth and South End mixed-income housing starts going up near the Pearl<\/a><\/p>\n

Part of the problem, organizations and young people in Charlotte say: not having a place to go and not knowing what to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this era, Charlotte does not have a lot of free spaces where youth can go and just hang out outside of home and school,\u201d said Winny Gracy Kapuba, a rising senior at Rocky River High School in Mint Hill.<\/p>\n

While local officials have said they\u2019ve stepped up their own initiatives, teenagers and the organizations that support them say there\u2019s more that should be done. They\u2019re working to find solutions, from workforce development to opportunities to speak with public officials to doing research on gathering spaces.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeen takeovers\u201d are events that rally large groups of teenagers, often organized quickly and gathered in downtowns, public spaces and shopping centers. They\u2019re commonly mobilized over social media<\/a>, and have happened in major cities across the country, such as Detroit, Chicago and Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

These groups can be noisy, disruptive and occasionally violent or destructive.<\/p>\n

In Charlotte, hundreds of teens g<\/u>athered at Romare Bearden Park<\/a> on the evening of Saturday, June 20, where they mainly kept to the sidewalks. However, some rode electric bikes \u2014 causing concerns about traffic safety \u2014 and at least two fights involving minors broke out.<\/p>\n

Several shopping centers in the Charlotte area have also tried to address the disruptions that arise from large teen gatherings.<\/p>\n

Camp North End instituted a curfew<\/a> for unsupervised minors starting in April after teen takeovers took place there, and Birkdale Village in Huntersville put a similar set of policies<\/a> in place in February. Concord Mills has had a teen curfew<\/a> in place on Friday and Saturday afternoons since 2021.<\/p>\n

The increased attention on teen takeovers correlates with a recurring concern<\/a> \u2014 how to keep teenagers engaged once school lets out for the summer.<\/p>\n

Ahead of uptown teen gathering, CMPD vowed on social media it would enforce the Youth Protection Ordinance, or the teen curfew.<\/p>\n

The curfew doesn\u2019t allow minors under 16 to be in public from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. without a parent or a guardian. Parents who allow a teenager to be out, and those over 16 who help them stay out, are also in violation of the ordinance.<\/p>\n

According to a June 22 news release, CMPD arrested 23 teenagers and one adult from the teen takeover crowd, and issued citations to 13 parents.<\/p>\n

CMPD has increased its presence and enforcement across several initiatives, especially in higher-density areas, according to a city spokesperson.<\/p>\n

\u201c[H]owever, the national trends regarding \u2018teen takeover\u2019 events will require additional mitigation, education, and prosecution strategies from all our law enforcement partners in the justice system,\u201d Lindsay Machak, the city\u2019s deputy director of communication and marketing, wrote in a statement for this story.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s Office of Youth Opportunity provides career, development and safety support for Charlotte youths. This summer, Machak said the office is working with community partners on event programming, including a midnight basketball event that\u2019s yet to be announced.<\/p>\n

Read more Multiple days of triple-digit heat headed to Charlotte area, forecasters say<\/a><\/p>\n

City spokespeople declined to make officials available for interviews.<\/p>\n

\u201cThird spaces\u201d refers to places that aren\u2019t work, school or home \u2014 in other words, any other safe space that allows teenagers to hang out and socialize. It\u2019s a concept that some have said is not getting enough attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cI personally had two conversations last week with two people who are in pretty significant decision-making power that had not \u2026 even heard that concept before, of third spaces, that teens need a place to go,\u201d said Amy Farrell, the executive director of GenerationNation.<\/p>\n

GenerationNation is one of the organizations supporting the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Youth Council<\/a>, the student advisory council that works with city and county government, as well as CMS. The group provides an opportunity for high school students from across the Charlotte area to participate in advocacy and civic engagement.<\/p>\n

Alesha Brown is the founding executive director of For The Struggle, a nonprofit that helps Charlotte communities facing hardship. The city\u2019s recently passed budget left out her organization, after it had received $100,000 in previous years\u2019 allocations, she said.<\/p>\n

For The Struggle runs the SaluteU program, which aims to keep teenagers out of trouble and the criminal justice system through paid work opportunities and personal development trainings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no way the city can provide all these resources, so therefore they have a responsibility to make sure that resources are pouring into organizations like For The Struggle, who are creating those spaces, who are making sure that our youth in the community have those services,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n

With the lack of awareness about the need for safe alternative spaces, teenagers have taken the issue into their own hands.<\/p>\n

Kapuba is one of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Youth Council\u2019s incoming district presidents.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been talking to community leaders, and two of our youth leaders at CMYC even talked with a national official about how important it is and how belonging it is to have third spaces for youth,\u201d Kapuba said. \u201cSo CMYC has really been trying to get the city to acknowledge this and create more spaces for teens, because I think that\u2019s truly what they\u2019re looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teenagers are also leading and conducting a research project this summer focusing on how existing third spaces already cater \u2014 or don\u2019t cater \u2014 to youths. The project is supported by City of Hobbies<\/a>, a group of organizations supporting youth fellows in Charlotte who conduct research on the impact of hobbies and hobby-developing spaces.<\/p>\n

Malia Springs, who is also a rising senior at Mint Hill High School, is working on the project. She\u2019s interested in ways that teenagers can gather \u201cand prevent it from being a disruptive thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an organization, we do hope that we can not just identify the problem but fix it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

One of the ultimate goals is to find ways to get teenagers to take on activities that are more out of law enforcement\u2019s way and less dangerous.<\/p>\n

\u201c[We want to] keep us from being \u2026 a disruption to our community, or being harmful to spaces that were previously welcoming and are not welcoming us anymore because of these takeovers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Read more In Charlotte, is SouthPark like South End for grownups?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cTeen takeovers\u201d have prompted community organizations and teenagers to advocate for safe third spaces. They say Charlotte NC officials could be doing more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nWith \u2018teen takeovers\u2019 on the rise, Charlotte youth organizations find solutions - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2429\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"With \u2018teen takeovers\u2019 on the rise, Charlotte youth organizations find solutions - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cTeen takeovers\u201d have prompted community organizations and teenagers to advocate for safe third spaces. They say Charlotte NC officials could be doing more.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2429\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-29T11:32:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2429#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2429\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"headline\":\"With \u2018teen takeovers\u2019 on the rise, Charlotte youth organizations find solutions\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-29T11:32:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2429\"},\"wordCount\":1103,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2429#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9de2c78cce499f0b7d4286c1f660ae9e.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2429#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2429\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2429\",\"name\":\"With \u2018teen takeovers\u2019 on the rise, Charlotte youth organizations find solutions - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2429#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2429#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9de2c78cce499f0b7d4286c1f660ae9e.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-29T11:32:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2429#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2429\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2429#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9de2c78cce499f0b7d4286c1f660ae9e.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/9de2c78cce499f0b7d4286c1f660ae9e.jpeg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2429#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"With \u2018teen takeovers\u2019 on the rise, Charlotte youth organizations find solutions\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"With \u2018teen takeovers\u2019 on the rise, Charlotte youth organizations find solutions - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2429","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"With \u2018teen takeovers\u2019 on the rise, Charlotte youth organizations find solutions - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","og_description":"\u201cTeen takeovers\u201d have prompted community organizations and teenagers to advocate for safe third spaces. They say Charlotte NC officials could be doing more.","og_url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2429","og_site_name":"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","article_published_time":"2026-06-29T11:32:39+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2429#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2429"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93"},"headline":"With \u2018teen takeovers\u2019 on the rise, Charlotte youth organizations find solutions","datePublished":"2026-06-29T11:32:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2429"},"wordCount":1103,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2429#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9de2c78cce499f0b7d4286c1f660ae9e.jpeg","articleSection":["Read today's Edition"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2429#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2429","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2429","name":"With \u2018teen takeovers\u2019 on the rise, Charlotte youth organizations find solutions - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2429#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2429#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9de2c78cce499f0b7d4286c1f660ae9e.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-06-29T11:32:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2429#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2429"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2429#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9de2c78cce499f0b7d4286c1f660ae9e.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/9de2c78cce499f0b7d4286c1f660ae9e.jpeg","width":1200,"height":675},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2429#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"With \u2018teen takeovers\u2019 on the rise, Charlotte youth organizations find solutions"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/","name":"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com"],"url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}