Diane Latiker

Diane Latiker is a community activist in Chicago. Latiker is the founder of the nonprofit, Kids Off the Block (KOB), which provides recreational activities and educational opportunities for young people in Chicago, focusing on the neighborhood of Roseland.

Biography Latiker never finished high-school, dropping out at age 16. She has worked in construction and as a cosmetologist. Latiker has lived in Roseland, Chicago, since 1988. She is the mother of eight children and 13 grandchildren. Latiker eventually remarried when she was 36 and earned her GED. Latiker literally turned her own home into a community center for young people. She sold her TV to buy used computers, and got rid of furniture to make space for kids in her home. Latiker became known to the Roseland neighborhood as Ms. Diane.

Latiker called her project Kids Off the Block (KOB) and started KOB because she felt that her community was "plagued by violence, hopelessness and negativity." There were no places for kids in her neighborhood to play prior to opening KOB. Latiker tries to help the young people who come to KOB in many ways, but especially by listening to them; "The only way I can help them is if I listen and know what they need.