With the gloomy residue of a winter slush storm outside, a steady stream of Bay Path students entered the cozy Forest Park storefront that houses the Darrell Lee Jenkins Jr. Resource Center and took to the task of readying the agency for a grand reopening taking place next month.
The Center was founded in 2015 by Executive Director Juanita Batchelor after her son, Darrell, was murdered by gun violence, to provide support and advocacy to families impacted by homicide and to fight for safe streets in Springfield.
“In the aftermath of a homicide, the community tends to reach out and rally around the grieving mother, and we know that’s important,” explained Batchelor. “But, there are sisters and brothers, grandparents, friends, all dealing with that trauma, and we look to ways to support them, too.”
Since its founding, the center has evolved into a community resource, offering support, connection, education and outreach to local families who may not be directly affected by gun violence, but who experience the obstacles and difficulties that accompany living in a high-poverty neighborhood. As she seeks to build the center’s capacity, Batchelor is seeking new enrollees, community partners, and fresh funding to strengthen the mission and ensure that doors stay open.
In 2024, the city of Springfield saw a 45% decrease in the number of homicides from the previous year’s all-time high of 31, mirroring a national trend of decreasing overall violent crime rates.
At a table looking out on Dickinson Street, staff and students were busy on laptops, finishing grant applications, brainstorming names for a newly launched support group, and coordinating the logistics for a supplementary school program, where children who have been suspended are able to spend their days in a supervised setting. Others added fresh paint to the walls, while others arranged platters of citrus and watermelon in a snack area.
The Service Day opportunity was arranged by Bay Path’s Assistant Director of Student Engagement and Resident Life, Bianca Romero. Romero was connected to the center by Alexis Diaz, who directs the after-school program there and also works at Bay Path.
“Miss Alex knew about the work that I do, coordinating with students, holding community financial literacy workshops, and being involved in social change,” says Romero. “She planted the seed to bring Bay Path to the center, and we had 40 students sign up.”
“I found out about this from a flyer on campus,” said Everly Oliver, a first-year Bay Path student studying Early Childhood Education. “I wanted to be involved, because it’s important for me to give back. I was adopted after growing up in foster care, and I want to have an impact on others like me.”
The day of service is an annual event which coincides with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. It falls over Bay Path’s winter break, so the University’s Office of Student Life scheduled their service day for February, when students can participate.
“The participation today really shows how powerful our Bay Path community is,” noted Romero. “We are being the change we want to see, and the potential to share that–by having our students use their education to serve as volunteers and role models–can be the basis of a great partnership. I told Juanita, ‘This is only the beginning.’”
