What we do
Connect Communities Through Baseball
The annual Safe At Home Game brings together L.E.A.D. Alumni with Officers the Atlanta Police Department, Atlanta Public Schools Police Department, Georgia Tech Police Department, Deputies from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office and Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for a 7-inning, self-officiated baseball game. The purpose? Create an environment of competition, trust and respect between the community and law enforcement.
The Backstory
The divide between our Black community and our police officers has never been wider. Despite the serious issues of crime and law enforcement , these issues do not define our communities.
The Safe At Home Game was founded in 2014 through discussions between Brad Jubin, co-founder and Executive Director of APIVEO, an organization offering leadership training to coaches and youth leaders and C.J. Stewart, former professional baseball player and co-founder and CEO of L.E.A.D., a now 18-year old organization focused on empowering an at-risk generation to lead and transform their City. Incorporating baseball as their nexus, L.E.A.D. seeks to inspire and equip young Black males with the empowerment they need to live a life of significance. Kids participating in this program are referred to as L.E.A.D. Ambassadors.
Through their discussions an idea was born! Brad and C.J. asked themselves:
The Safe At Home Game is now an annual event for the community. But it’s proven to be more than “just” a game. As Brad and C.J. envisioned, this has served to open lines of communication, which fosters mutual understanding and individual bonds between L.E.A.D. youth and law enforcement on AND off the field.
Making Connections
Since that first game in 2015, both the L.E.A.D. Ambassadors and Atlanta Police Department officers have learned mutual understandings and respect for each other.
“Being around police like I am through the Safe At Home Game never would have happened if not for me bing a part of L.E.A.D. I've built meaningful relationships with law enforcement through this game. I've seen some racist, corrupt officers in my life. Through this game, I'm also able to see the good ones.”
”Words cannot express the joy I had in playing in this year’s police vs youth game. I am one of those officers who patrol through a few of the lower income, inner-city neighborhoods. On a daily basis kids and adults yell vulgar language just at the mere presence of a police vehicle, and I can honestly say a lot of times it bothers me.
On many occasions, I have exited my patrol vehicle and attempted to interact and play sports with the youth. Often the youth refuse to play or an adult comes and tells them to go in the house -" we don't talk to police". This baseball game meant so much to me because during and after the game these young men told me “thank you” for playing. They also told me I'm the coolest and funniest cop they had ever met. It meant a lot to me because I have two small sons who were able to come and watch the game, and see why daddy can't walk the next day because he is getting old and pulls a muscle every time he plays sports. The kids told me thank you a lot, but I am the one who should be thanking them.”
Our Goal
We have been hard at work to expand awareness of the Safe At Home Game to increase community and media involvement and to further establish this event as an important venue for improving relations between the City of Atlanta Police Department and the communities it serves. We believe the Atlanta Safe At Home Game could serve as a model for other cities around the country. We hope someday to reach out to groups in other locales and help them establish a Safe At Home Game event that will provide a solution for their city as it is doing today for us in Atlanta.
How you can help:
Become a sponsor today or make a donation.
We need you!
Please consider joining our efforts to promote much needed positive dialogue, understanding and mutual respect between our at-risk youth and the police officers who work hard every day to keep our communities safe.
Your donation will allow us to build on this successful initiative and move the Safe At Home Game forward to serve as a blueprint for tearing down some of the barriers that exist today among citizens of our communities and the police who serve us all.
L.E.A.D. is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. All donations are tax deductible.