TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - In an effort to combat the crime in the city, one local man has opened a new center for the youth.
He's hoping this will get them off the streets and put them on the right track.
The new place where the youth along with adults can go is called the social, and It sits on the corner of Lagrange.
Charles Veley is welcoming everyone to "The Social."
You might recognize him as the man that biked all the way to Florida or as the man that lived in a box for 7 days to raise awareness to stop gun violence and sex trafficking.
Along his journey he collected donations and he used them to pen this building to the men women and children of Toledo.
"A lot of people go through problems in life but there is never anywhere to let the problems out so the social is here for adults and kids alike to come here have a nice time live and let life take you somewhere you've never been before," said Veley.
The Social is equipped with an entertainment area for kids, A place where they can study, meditate and even a barbershop where kids can get their hair cuts for a reasonable price.
"We giving back clothes we're donating food we're going to give back money we gone help people pay bills every now and then. We will probably feed a family every now and then," said Veley.
Veley's passion to give back comes from his upbringing. He came from a broken home which turned him towards the streets and eventually to joining a gang.
Now he's hoping to inspire the youth to dream big and never look back.
"Here at the social you can tell your story you can come in here and say I came in here today as an addict and I want to change and we're going to try to help you change," said Veley.
Change is what Charles is hoping for and the doors are open to the community.
He tells WTOL they will actually be open 22 hours out of the day.
