My Place Teen Center

Mission: My Place Teen Center provides a safe haven for youth, ages 10 to 18, sustaining them with comfort, meals, resources, and hope. Vision: All youth will have the academic, job readiness, and life skills necessary to lead independent adult lives filled with stewardship, courage, passion, and joy. 

My Place is a teen center that offers Greater Portland youth a rich variety of out-of-school time, year round programming. Population served: All youth ages 10-18, and specializing in at risk youth including homeless, food insecure, cognitively-delayed, low-income, immigrant, and refugee teens. The two most important services we provide: (1) Afterschool programming five hours/day, year round (2) Meals Services received: A structured, supervised curriculum providing daily programming including homework assistance, service learning, mentoring, physical fitness, arts and crafts, cooking and nutrition, life skills training, leadership skills, higher education/job acquisition support, and counseling. We also serve unlimited snacks and nightly dinners. We do not charge a fee for any of our services, meals, or programs. Benefits of MPTC and how it strengthens the community: There is a bevy of research devoted to best practices in afterschool programs. Ample evidence concludes that afterschool programs are an effective strategy deterring destructive juvenile behavior and promoting positive futures. As such, expanded learning opportunities afterschool and during the summer months play an important role in determining a child's future success, particularly among low-income students and special student populations. Since children and youth spend only 20 percent of their waking hours in the traditional classroom, it is critical that students have access to high-quality out-of-school time programming that supports academic success, promotes healthy social and emotional development, and prevents youth violence.