AUBURN, Maine — The Auburn Police Activities League (PAL) is set to expand in the coming years after receiving a major boost in funding. As part of the Fiscal Year 2023 Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill, $3 million dollars was secured for PAL to expand programming and build a new facility.
"I know that this will make a big difference. We've already seen the success of the PAL center, and now we can make it bigger and better than ever," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said.
Collins helped secure federal funds for the project and toured the facility Friday afternoon.
"We've given the children a place to go after school and have provided them that safe haven," Auburn Police Chief and PAL President Jason Moen said.
PAL has existed since 2013 on 24 Chestnut St. in Auburn. According to Moen, the Auburn Police Department looked at four years' worth of crime data during the early 2010s and found that 23 percent of all crimes committed by youth offenders in Auburn took place within an area of less than half a square mile.
In an effort to change those statistics and provide positive experiences for at-risk youth in the city, PAL came to life in the heart of that neighborhood.
Moen said in the near decade since opening, there has been a 12 percent drop in calls for service in the same area previously studied.
"It really breaks down that barrier and makes the officers more approachable," Moen said. "And it makes the kids feel more comfortable in talking with officers, because sometimes, especially in these neighborhoods, the only interaction they see with a police officer, they're at their house for a domestic issue or some kind or another problem. So being able to see an officer out of that enforcement role, and kind of in that community policing role, it makes a huge difference."
The center provides educational and athletic activities for kids after school and during the summer, along with meals for families and free clothing.
When PAL expands with the newly acquired federal funding, 24 Chestnut St. will become a hub for additional after-school and summer activities, and allow the building to increase capacity and serve more community members.
The new facility will also hold a childhood education and child care program, a health center, a teen center, a gym, and a commercial kitchen and food pantry.
The City of Auburn is also contributing $3 million toward the project. City leaders expect site plans to be completed in the fall, with construction beginning next spring.