It started last summer as a pilot project with 7,000 12- to 24-year-olds in Prince George’s County Councilman Tony Knotts’ District 8 spending their free time off the streets in safe havens.

Knotts’ project, Safe Summer, went countywide this summer, and as of the end of last month, more than 13,000 residents had joined the after-hours get-togethers, said a Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission spokesman.