Diane Latiker facts for kids

Diane Latiker is a special person from Chicago who helps young people. She started a group called Kids Off the Block (KOB). This group gives kids fun activities and chances to learn new things. KOB mainly helps young people in a neighborhood called Roseland in Chicago.

Who is Diane Latiker?

Diane Latiker has lived in Roseland, Chicago, since 1988. She is a mom to eight children and has 13 grandchildren. She worked hard to earn her GED later in life.

How Kids Off the Block Started

In 2003, Diane Latiker's daughter, Aisha, was becoming a teenager. Diane worried about young people in her neighborhood getting into trouble. Her mother suggested she help the teens around them. So, Diane decided to turn her own home into a place where young people could come.

She sold her TV to buy computers for the kids. She even moved furniture to make more space in her house. She opened her doors to all the children in the neighborhood. She let them know she was ready to help them any time. Diane did not expect her idea to become so popular. But in just about three months, 75 kids were visiting her home regularly! People in the Roseland neighborhood started to call her Ms. Diane.

What Kids Off the Block Does

Diane Latiker named her project Kids Off the Block (KOB). She started KOB because she felt her community was "plagued by violence, hopelessness and negativity." Before KOB, there were no safe places for kids in her neighborhood to play. Her program gives young people a different path instead of getting involved in negative influences.

Diane tries to help the young people who come to KOB in many ways. Most importantly, she listens to them. She says, "The only way I can help them is if I listen and know what they need." In 2011, Diane Latiker was recognized for her amazing work. She made it to the top ten of CNN Heroes.