Community activist Diane Latiker has been honored with so many awards that her dining room can hardly contain them. However, the makeshift memorial across from her house outnumbers her awards, with hundreds of stone markers that bear the names of the children she had lost to gun violence. The ages range from 6 months to victims in their young 20s. Latiker is also the founder of the not for profit organization Kids Off The Block (KOTB). Latiker describes her organization as a “holistic care center for prevention, personal growth, and empowerment.” Founded in 2003, the organization reaches out to the most "at-risk" youth in the Roseland/Pullman area. It provides them with access to a path that leads away from violence, self-destruction, and economic impoverishment. To achieve its mission, Latiker's foundation offers a multi-service youth program that focuses on personal and social growth, health and wellness, and educational achievement. KOTB provides a safe place "off the block" for those young people who do not feel welcomed by traditional youth programs.
