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| Last updated on February 20, 2008 |
Youth and Family Outreach's mission is to improve the lives of Maine's young people and their families by working collaboratively with the community we serve.
Description:
Youth and Family Outreach operates two programs:
The Preble Learning Center was established in 1986, starting with only 4 children and volunteer care takers in the basement of the building. The program now occupies the entire building and serves 48 children and their families. The center is a state licensed (Department of Health and Human Services) and nationally accredited (National Association for the Education of Young Children) child care facility offering affordable, quality services to children and families of Greater Portland. Camelia Babson-Haley serves as the Program Director and brings a wealth of education and experience in this field. The Center provides care for 8 infants (6 weeks through 12 months), 4 young toddlers (1 to 2 years), 10 toddlers (2 to 3 years), 10 tykes (2 to 3 years), and sixteen preschoolers (3 to 5 years).
Preble Learning Center provides a safe and loving atmosphere in which to grow and learn. The environment is designed to enhance the psychological, social, physical and emotional development of the children and the families. All children are engaged in developmentally appropriate and child centered activities and curriculums. The center is particularly proud of its new preschool curriculum, the Early Reading First program. Our facility is only one of a very few national pilot sites that are engaging in this exciting and promising program developed by the Department of Education to promote early literacy.
Priority is given to children of teen and low income parents who are working, in school, or in job training. Services for most TANF (Revised Welfare to Work Program) are available at a reduced cost and a limited number of subsidized slots are also available.
Teen Adventure was initially established in 1984 as a therapeutic adventure-based program for young boys with histories of abuse and neglect who were transitioning from state custody. Through several funding and policy changes, the program has kept a steady focus on serving at risk youth and now offers coed programming to middle school students of Greater Portland.
The program is designed to develop the social, emotional, and physical growth of young adolescents through a broad variety of outdoor group activities and structured instruction. Teen adventure incorporates a leadership and resiliency curriculum in concert with adult mentoring, outdoor experiences and environmental education, and selected community service projects.
The benefits of the program include improved school performance and attendance, decreased behavioral incidents, increased social supports and competencies, increased resiliency skills, improved health and fitness, development of self management and safety/injury prevention skills, and investing and caring for the local community.
This is a year round program and trips and events are planned after school, on weekends, and sometimes overnight. Activities may range from kayaking, swimming, snow shoeing, rock climbing, hiking, to attending local events such as movies or the planetarium. Variety is the key and participants play a role in choosing and planning many of the adventures.
History:
Youth and Family Outreach has a rich, unwavering history of serving some of Portland's most disadvantaged children and families. Since its origins in 1844 as a community outreach mission of the Portland Ministries at Large, the agency has focused its efforts on a compassionate mission to serve the poor.
Starting in 1853 with the establishment of Maine's first adult education school, to the Pride Training School for mentally retarded children, to a credit union for the local poor, to the Beacon Teen Center for homeless youth, the agency has risen to meet critical community needs of the time. All of this was made possible through the generosity of Mary Deering Preble who donated land and funds for the construction of a chapel to the Portland Ministry and First Parish Society of Portland. The only condition was that this facility, which was completed in 1852, would always welcome and serve the needs of the local poor. The mission continues on this site to this very day.
Continuing the Mission Today
In 1979 the Portland Ministries at Large filed for nonprofit status and was granted independent status from the First Parish to conduct its outreach mission. In 1984 the agency began focusing its attention on social services for inner city youth. In 1994 the Portland Ministries at Large filed to carry out its business as Youth and Family Outreach.
The agency currently offers two programs. The Preble Learning Center, established in 1986, is a licensed and nationally accredited early child care center offering services primarily to teen and low income parents with children 6 weeks to five years of age. Teen Adventure, a mentoring program for at-risk youth, was started in 1984 and has evolved over the years to offer outdoor learning experiences to middle school students of Greater Portland.
Contact people:
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Rob Ellis, Executive Director, (phone), (email)
Camelia Babson-Haley, Program Director, Preble Learning Center, (phone), (email)
Lindsy Blazej, Program Coordinator, (phone), (email) |
Office fax number: 207-874-2373
Address:
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331 Cumberland Ave
Portland, ME 04101
(See a map) |
Web Site: http://www.yfoutreach.org
Directions:
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Parking can be a problem so car pool if possible. From 295 take Franklin Arterial Exit. Go up the hill to Cumberland Ave and turn right onto Cumberland. Go past the Public Market, Youth and Family Outreach will. . . (more)
Nearest Bus Stop: Elm Street Pulse, 2 minutes from bus stop minute walk |
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