Mission: My Place Teen Center provides a haven for young people ages 10 – 24, sustaining them with comfort, meals, resources, and hope. Vision: Young people attending MPTC will have the academic, job readiness, and life skills necessary to lead independent adult lives filled with stewardship, courage, passion, and joy. About: Opened in 1998, My Place Teen Center is a nonprofit southern Maine after-school oasis offering year-round, free, positive youth development programming specializing in cultivating grit and alleviating hunger and trauma. We are at the forefront of some of the most crucial issues of our time. • We fight to keep kids safe from the devastation of the opioid epidemic. • We combat poverty and food insecurity. • We create authentic communities with kids from diverse backgrounds, teaching them to be good citizens and neighbors. • We show teens from compromised homes a better way to live life – with accountability, personal responsibility, and self-care. At MPTC, adverse childhood experiences and the lifelong consequences of trauma are counterbalanced with protective factors such as increasing cognitive capacity, healthy attachment to relationships, regulating emotions and behaviors, and creating safe environments. Program Domains: Character development, STEAM, job skills, meals, civic engagement, and life skills.