My Place Teen Center in Westbrook

Posted by Bill Kany on Apr 02, 2019

Check out the magic behind our red doors!

755 Main Street | Westbrook, ME 04092 | 207-854-2800

WCSH 6 Who Care Agency of Distinction | United Way Partner Agency | Mainebiz’s Nonprofit Business Leader of the Year | Maine Children’s Alliance Giraffe Award |TD Beach to Beacon Charitable Recipient

The program was about the My Place Teen Center in Westbrook and their efforts to establish such a center in Biddeford as well. We heard from Deb Shangraw who is the current president of the Westbrook Gorham Rotary Club which has been instrumental in support to the success of MPTC. Deb serves as a consultant for MPTC and is excited about the prospect of setting up a MPTC in Biddeford. She maintains that the loving atmosphere at the MPTC saves lives and that it is one of the most unique places on earth. The MPTC is located in a former church which has been renovated into a shining facility with a commercial kitchen from which they serve many meals each week.

We also heard from Donna Dwyer who is he President of MPTC. She is clearly passionate about the program and would love to see a new MPTC in Biddeford in the former church located at 75 Bacon Street owned by the Biddeford Housing Authority. She said the MPTC in Westbrook serves 40-70 kids each day from ages 10-18 with the only qualification being that they are a kid.

We also heard from Guy Gagnon, a former club member and the head of the Biddeford Housing Authority. They would like our hands on help to convert space in the former church to a new MPTC for Biddeford and Saco kids. They would like to open it in the summer of 2020. They will need money for the space and a new kitchen but they will also need hands on help. Sounds like a great project.

Below is some additional information provided to us about My Place Teen Center.

My Place Teen Center is a southern Maine organization based in Westbrook with a second location to be opened in Biddeford, July 2020. Our mission is to provide a safe haven for middle and high school youth, ages 10-18, sustaining them with comfort, meals, resources, and hope.

Opened in 1998, we are a year round, free, out of school time, evidence-based, positive youth development program specializing in cultivating grit and alleviating hunger and trauma. We are open five hours per day, five days per week, year-round. Everything we do for the kids is free.

My Place Teen Center is at the forefront of some of the most crucial issues of our time.

We fight to keep kids safe from the devastation of the opioid epidemic.
We combat poverty and food insecurity.
We create real, authentic communities with kids from diverse backgrounds, teaching them how to be good citizens and good neighbors.
We show teens from broken homes that there is a better way to live life – with accountability, personal responsibility, and self-care.
We are not just raising kids, we are raising the next generation of adults, and they are headed your way. It matters who they are now, and whom they become as adults.
We know adverse childhood experiences and the lifelong consequences of trauma can be counterbalanced with protective factors such as increasing cognitive capacity, healthy attachment of relationships, the ability to regulate emotions and behaviors, and creating safe environments. This is our calling card.

MPTC Domains:

Character development, academic support, civic engagement, and life skills.

MPTC Differentiators:

Free
Homey, warm, inviting aesthetic
Nutritious, full, daily meals
Year-round
25 hours per week
Teen-centric
Job and life preparedness
Focus on social emotional learning and evidence-based strategies such as instilling grit, curiosity, leadership, and self-awareness
Drop-in and program specific
Local control; local decision-making

In 2014, Biddeford champions and stakeholders, including the Mayor and Biddeford Housing Authority, requested discussions about how to bring our business model to Biddeford. Originally we were functioning in a consultant mode – how THEY could operate such a facility like ours, but early 2017 discussions turned to: Would WE bring our business model to Biddeford and run a second site/MPTC for them? Given that expansion was already part of our strategic plan, this was an easy leap due to the positive relationship developed with City leaders and a similar demographic and landscape between both cities.

Thus, we have been working closely with Biddeford Housing Authority and Mayor Casavant regarding establishing a second site at 75 Bacon Street, Biddeford; the former St. Andre's Church. Our target opening date is July 2020. We will be located on the bottom floor - about 9,000 square feet - of the church. The former rectory houses a high school alternative education program and the convent is now senior housing.