Bankrupt Detroit Presents Children With Huge Challenges

Adults fight to improve the future of local children.

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Are the Kids Alright? - Amid the biggest municipal bankruptcy in the U.S., the city of Detroit has been called "the Olympics of restructuring." Headlines have followed the bankruptcy exit plans and the city's world-class art collection, but what about the children? Continue reading to learn about the challenges they face. — Patrice Peck (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Mass Exodus - Originally a city of 1.8 million residents in the 1950s, Detroit now has about 700,000. Many families left the city in search of better education. (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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Mass Exodus - Originally a city of 1.8 million residents in the 1950s, Detroit now has about 700,000. Many families left the city in search of better education. (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

A Drop in Enrollment - Mirroring the decline is enrollment at Detroit Public Schools, which dropped from 164,496 in 2002 to about 49,500 in 97 schools today. (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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A Drop in Enrollment - Mirroring the decline is enrollment at Detroit Public Schools, which dropped from 164,496 in 2002 to about 49,500 in 97 schools today. (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

City Bus Struggles - Despite attending one of the city's most promising new public schools, students at the Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine encounter challenges. "Some days, I don't get home until 9 p.m.," 16-year-old Ben Carson junior Robert Moore told AP about the overcrowded, inefficient bus system. (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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City Bus Struggles - Despite attending one of the city's most promising new public schools, students at the Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine encounter challenges. "Some days, I don't get home until 9 p.m.," 16-year-old Ben Carson junior Robert Moore told AP about the overcrowded, inefficient bus system. (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Unusable Parks and Recreation - Fifteen-year-old James Moore, Robert's brother, told AP that unsanitary conditions, like "tall grass, nasty bleachers [and] trash everywhere," had often kept his youth-league football team from playing. Most of the city's 300 parks have reportedly become overgrown wastelands. (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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Unusable Parks and Recreation - Fifteen-year-old James Moore, Robert's brother, told AP that unsanitary conditions, like "tall grass, nasty bleachers [and] trash everywhere," had often kept his youth-league football team from playing. Most of the city's 300 parks have reportedly become overgrown wastelands. (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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Lights Out - Students also encounter frequent power outages at many schools. About 200 schools have closed in recent years as a result of depopulation, with 88 up for sale.  (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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Lights Out - Students also encounter frequent power outages at many schools. About 200 schools have closed in recent years as a result of depopulation, with 88 up for sale.  (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Special Stresses - The stresses placed on Detroit's young people extend beyond the realm of education.    (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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Special Stresses - The stresses placed on Detroit's young people extend beyond the realm of education.    (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Death and Detroit - The youth of Detroit are coming of age in a city where the child poverty rate of 57 percent is triple the national figure due to high levels of gang violence and premature births.(Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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Death and Detroit - The youth of Detroit are coming of age in a city where the child poverty rate of 57 percent is triple the national figure due to high levels of gang violence and premature births.(Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Danger and Dysfunction - Additionally, adults have voiced concerned about the long-term effects of Detroit's children growing up surrounded by dysfunction, danger and "the blight epitomized by tens of thousands of abandoned homes," AP reported. (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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Danger and Dysfunction - Additionally, adults have voiced concerned about the long-term effects of Detroit's children growing up surrounded by dysfunction, danger and "the blight epitomized by tens of thousands of abandoned homes," AP reported. (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Hope in a Hopeless Place - Nonetheless, a mix of private, public and volunteer programs led by community leaders, parents and educators continues working to improve the educational and socioeconomic opportunities of Detroit's children. (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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Hope in a Hopeless Place - Nonetheless, a mix of private, public and volunteer programs led by community leaders, parents and educators continues working to improve the educational and socioeconomic opportunities of Detroit's children. (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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Giving Back - Once a frequent fighter, Jalen Pickett is now a diligent participant of the Children in Trauma Intervention Camp, led by the Police Department. "I feel Detroit can come back," Pickett told AP. "And if I do go away to college, I plan on coming back here and giving back to Detroit." (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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Giving Back - Once a frequent fighter, Jalen Pickett is now a diligent participant of the Children in Trauma Intervention Camp, led by the Police Department. "I feel Detroit can come back," Pickett told AP. "And if I do go away to college, I plan on coming back here and giving back to Detroit." (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

"It's Up to the Youth" - "If Detroit can change, it's up to the youth to do it," Pickett told AP. (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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"It's Up to the Youth" - "If Detroit can change, it's up to the youth to do it," Pickett told AP. (Photo: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)