My Place Teen Center (MPTC) is a year-round, free, out-of-school-time program for youth ages 10-18 located in Westbrook. Specializing in youth most at-risk, including kids who are experiencing homelessness, food insecurity, cognitive delay, poverty, immigrant or refugee status (or a combination of any of these circumstances), MPTC offers a multi-purpose, academically-enriching, life-skills-enhancing, hunger-relieving, youth development program since its inception in 1998. MPTC is in the business of transforming lives. To this end, they are driven to respond to the urgent need to get kids to stay in school, to yearn for something beyond their present moment, and to accept social responsibility. MPTC is helping Southern Maine respond to rapid growth and change. Recent data shows Westbrook growing at double the state average, with 15% living in poverty and 20% of the student body composed of a racial minority, many of whom are refugees from the violence of the Middle East and Africa. MPTC's ultimate goal is to increase graduation rates. With the help of a modest-sized staff as well as 120+ volunteers offering more than 6,000 of service, MPTC focuses on instilling grit, pleasant persistence, pluck, love, curiosity, passion, compassion and chutzpah as key attributes of adult success. STEM programming, environmental studies, financial literacy, nutrition, and wellness support character development, academic excellence, and civic engagement.
