HOMESTEAD, Fla.  — When Samantha Mitchell punches out of work at a medical clinic, her day is far from over: Kids are waiting in front of their homes for her silver minivan to pull up and drive them to a field.

For the past 11 years, Mitchell and her husband, Leon, have organized kickball games for children in the Miami suburbs of Homestead and Florida City, home to some of the highest-crime neighborhoods in the state.

They started the games as exercise for their own children. As more joined, it blossomed into a free Monday-through-Saturday meetup designed as a safe haven for local children, who are often wary of going outside to play.

The Mitchells, both 35, call the informal program KICKS, or Keeping Inner City Kids Safe.  The couple’s reach extends beyond the field: They monitor the kids’ progress in school, organize trips to amusement parks, and host game nights at their home.

“I pray for them all the time,” Mitchell said one recent afternoon as the children played in the distance.

The 2018 National Council for Home Safety and Security report ranked Florida City as the fourth-most-dangerous community in the U.S. Homestead was ranked 41st. Violent crime, poverty, and a lack of affordable afterschool programs mean many children are virtually trapped at home.

“Their parents don’t trust them outside because it’s not safe to be out there,” Mitchell said.

Courtnee Fields is a 15-year-old high school sophomore who dreams of being a marine biologist. She has joined the kickball game for the past nine years. She grew up a stone’s throw from the field in Homestead public housing. She has neighborhood friends who have been killed in gun violence. At times when she was a child, she was fearful of going outside, even to go to school.

For Fields, kickball has always been an escape.

“It’s like everything from your mind is free,” she said. “You’re thinking of nothing but kickball.”

She said the group is a “second family” and helped shape who she is today. Fields now helps watch over the newest generation of kids.