Program areas at Police Athletic League
Center operations: k-8th grade students take part in afterschool and summer day camp programs at 19 centers in all five boroughs. Programs have a strong focus on science, technology, engineering and math (stem), literacy, nutrition, fitness and social-emotional learning.
Teen programs: pal helps older youth, ages 13-19 gain work skills to promote long-term educational and career outcomes. 10 teen centers offer drop-in, safe spaces within pal communities where youth can connect with positive peer and adult mentors and take part in an array of holistic recreational, educational and job skills training activities, andsocial-emotional supports. Pal's youth link service offers an enhanced teen model with a comprehensive suite of services including mental health supports at five sites. Program enhancements include additions to our staff of lmsw's and increased training requirements for direct line staff in the nyc "building resilient youth" program model for teens. The maap program offers one-on-one mentorship to teenagers who are under the supervision of the nyc administration of children services. Pal also offers jobs skills training and placements through the work progress program.
Child care: through seven early head start and head start centers, pal helps young children, ages 2-5, develop social skills and build a strong foundation for future achievement in school. Through the "bridging the achievement gap initiative", the programs have a strong focus on literacy. Our site in rockaway also has programming for expectant mothers.
Sports and recreation: pal offers sports for boys and girls ages 9-19 throughout the city to include soccer, flag-football, basketball, softball, volleyball, lacrosse, and street hockey. Sports are offered through pal centers, the "saturday night lights" program and cops & kids sports leagues supported by volunteer nypd officers. Pal playstreets were offered at nyc housing authority and other neighborhood locations for five weeks of the summer, bringing the elements of summer camp directly to the doorsteps of youth in low-income neighborhoods. Pal continued to offer pop-up street games in which youth had opportunities to get outside and play in sports days throughout the city.