My Place Teen Center, a nonprofit that offers programming and meals for at-risk children in Westbrook, will open a facility in Biddeford next year.
My Place Teen Center plans to convert the former St. Andre’s Church into a safe haven for teens and pre-teens, CEO Donna Dwyer announced Tuesday. The Biddeford teen center will be a partnership between My Place Teen Center and Southern Maine Affordable Housing.
The Biddeford program will be modeled after My Place Teen Center’s first location in Westbrook, which serves 40 to 70 kids per day, and more than 500 per year.
The new teen center, which will be completed in fall 2020, will occupy 9,800 square feet on the main floor of the church at 75 Bacon St. Dwyer said the expansion is part of the organization’s vision to offer youth relief from poverty, food insecurity and cultural pressures such as substance abuse by providing meals and after-school opportunities in a safe and cost-free place.
“We are thrilled to partner with SMAH to bring year-round, no-barrier services to a new city,” Dwyer said in a statement. “The positive relationships developed in Biddeford and a similar demographic and landscape between both cities makes this an easy leap for our organization. MPTC will be complementing existing stellar nonprofit resources to round out the availability of critical youth services. With more flexibility and opportunities to access, the healthier our communities will be.”
My Place Teen Center opened in Westbrook 21 years ago. Guy Gagnon, president of Southern Maine Affordable Housing, said he sees Biddeford as an area that will benefit from the type of programming that has been offered in Westbrook.
“As the downtown becomes revitalized, it becomes more important than ever to make sure the most vulnerable residents aren’t left behind,” he said. “My Place Teen Center has the programming in place to provide a safe place where teens can gather after school, learn about themselves and their role in the community, eat a warm meal, and feel safe and loved.”
My Place Teen Center will host a town hall community event from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Nov. 13 at its future space on Bacon Street to celebrate the announcement and share more details about the plans to convert the church to a teen center.
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