Our Services

  • Community Summer Camp 2024

    “Our Support Systems: Family, Nature, Biology, and Community"

    Week 1 — June 17 - June 20
    Week 2 — June 24 - June 27
    Week 3 — July 8 - July 11
    Week 4 — July 15 — July 18

    15 middle school youth attended Leadership Training and assisted in camps as Mentors-in-Training.

    Community Camp means that the ages of entry are flexible to best suit the needs of the children and families in the community.

    Activities include community circles, art projects, science lessons and educational field trips. Meals and transportation are provided.

  • Family Advocacy Services

    Sessions by appointment for enrolled families.

    We offer individualized sessions for caregivers of each household which focus on addressing the immediate needs of the family with the goal of providing 200 hours a year. A session may focus on applying for post-secondary degrees, applying for federal financial aid, filling out forms in English, or assisting with phone calls in English. Connections to basic need support such as clothing and food is also available.

    In August 2024, we launched our Local Love Food Share program in partnership with Portland Food Co-op and delivered fresh food bags to families once a week. We also launched our bi-monthly Caregiver Collective potluck dinners in an effort to increase social connectedness amongst caregivers.

  • Youth Mentorship Groups

    Monday
    Middle School Boys
    3:30-5:30pm and 5:30-7:30pm

    Tuesday
    Younger Youth
    2:30-4:30pm

    Wednesday
    Younger Youth
    1:30-3:30pm

    Middle School Girls
    3:30-5:30pm

    Thursday
    Younger Youth
    2:30-4:30pm

    15 Mentors-in-Training will take 3-week shifts assisting with younger youth groups supporting social-emotional needs of youth as well as STEAM programming.

Youth engage in a discussion about animal tracks before going on a hike with Rebecca Dugan from the Falmouth Land Trust.

Value-Add Partnerships

At Our Place, we believe in Value-Add partnerships, or in other words, partners that understand our population, engage well with our youth, and share a vision for the success of middle schoolers and their families.

To that end, here are a list of partners who have engaged with our youth at no cost or reduced cost and to whom we are sincerely grateful.

Our education advocacy partners include the leadership of East End Community School and King Middle School, Make it Happen Coordinator Jen Skyka, and Amy Thompson, teacher of family English at Portland Adult Education. Our advocacy partners include: Disability Rights Maine, City of Portland Public Health, Bernstein Shur, MANA, East Bayside Community Policing, and The Center for Grieving Children.