AUGUSTA, Maine — For the past few years, Maine Youth Justice has been working to get Long Creek Youth Development Center closed. Now, a bill is making its way through the Maine Legislature and some state lawmakers say now is the time to close the facility for good.
"I think, you know, we could be doing so much better, let's make their lives, let's make it easier to stay out of these situations in the first place," Rep. Grayson Lookner (D-Portland) said.
Lookner is sponsoring the bill to close Long Creek, which is located in South Portland, by 2023.
For about three years, Maine Youth Justice has been advocating to close the facility and repurpose the funds to better support kids in need.
"We can better use the funds to treat mental health problems and battle poverty," Al Cleveland with Maine Youth Justice said during the public hearing.
Lookner agreed, and said now is the time to close Long Creek for good and reallocate the money.
"If we're serious about public safety we should really be investing in housing ... we should be investing in treatment options," he said.
People who have spent time in Long Creek say it has been damaging.
"I was lonely on the outside and lonely on the inside. I never should have been incarcerated so young. And Long Creek never taught me anything ... it says it's a development center but the only thing it's developing is a post-traumatic stress disorder," Skye Gosselin said during the public hearing.
No one at the public hearing opposed the bill, but the Maine Department of Corrections told NEWS CENTER Maine it opposes LD 1668.
In an email, the Maine DOC said in part, "We are committed to the juvenile services action plan we released publicly in February, a plan informed by our work with partners across the state. We believe this plan will continue to bring about improved services and care for youth involved with the juvenile justice system, while also ensuring public safety."