Freedom Skate Park

On Saturday, November 23rd, HomeFront’s Joy, Hope, and Dreams program invited Music Unite to go skateboarding with them at the Freedom Skate Park, an emerging mecca specially designed for skateboarding enthusiasts. 

The concept behind Freedom Skate Park is to create a space where people can skate indoors for free. This is crucial because when it rains or snows, skaters can’t skate outside. In addition, in winter, the days get shorter, so it gets dark sooner. When kids get out of school or people get out of work, it is already dark, so the park gives them a place to skate safely. There have been indoor skate parks before, but they have all closed down in the past few years, leaving Freedom Skate Park as the only operating park in New Jersey. 

Jake McNichol, Freedom founder, and director launched the idea in the summer of 2018. It was very successful right from the start. He wanted the space to be where people can “freely explore their creativity,” and that is exactly what has happened. 

Housed in the Roebling Works, a vast former steel factory in Trenton’s Chambersburg section, the Park was buzzing with skaters this recent Saturday. Some of the kids were skating freely on the smooth concrete floors in the open space, while others were skating up and down small wooden ramps or flying off short jumps that have been built for the park. 

The Park’s popularity can be seen in the nearly 100 skaters who show up to special events at the park. People come from all over New Jersey and all the way from Philly, New York, and Connecticut to attend their events. 

Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora gave the park his stamp of approval. The City of Trenton Department of Recreation, Culture, and Natural Resources helps maintain the park. Mayor Gusciora and the people from HomeFront and Music Unite all took a big group photo (see above). To top off the day, Freedom Skate Park gave all the HomeFront kids a skateboard to bring home as part of the Grom-a-Rama event held at the park on November 23rd. Some of the kids from HomeFront were already familiar with skateboarding, while others were just beginning their journey. Some learned how to just simply ride a board, while others were starting to learn a couple of cool tricks. Some of the kids, including myself, were a little scared to push off, but with the amazing guidance of the volunteers, we were soon all skateboarding like pros. 

I (Amanda) was also just learning how to skateboard, and trust me, I was terrified. I kept thinking about all of the possibilities of how I would fall and didn’t think about how I wouldn’t. But, I found my courage (and balance) and finally pushed off. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t fall, but that didn’t stop me from trying again. There is no feeling like the one you get when pushing off and gliding through the indoor skate park. Like the park’s name, it’s a feeling of freedom as a chilly breeze brushes past your face. 

The feeling of freedom doesn’t just come naturally. 

One boy from HomeFront was, at first, trying to skate by himself. He would always cling onto the wall, for he was afraid of falling. A volunteer went over to guide him, but the boy, who looked to be about 10 to 12 years old, still had a look of fear in his eyes and kept clinging to the wall. As he tried more and more, he slowly came out of his shell with the steady hand of the volunteer finally letting go, as a parent might let go of their child just off training wheels. Near the end of the session, he was skating around like he owned the place. 

McNichol said that skateboarding is not just a way to spend your free time, but it also helps improve your mind. Skateboarding not only brings joy but along with it comes many obstacles. Skateboarding teaches one to face these obstacles and to persevere through the fear, frustration, and failure. The boy from HomeFront is a perfect example of this. He managed to step out of his comfort zone and started experimenting with many things. 

The park was truly a place where the HomeFront kids and Music Unite could overcome a difficult challenge, while freely exploring our creativity.