Established in 2015, Brookline Teen Outreach is a community center providing quality resources free of charge to youth ages 10-18 in the Greater Pittsburgh area. Their team of experienced program coordinators works diligently to create new, and exciting programming that reflects what is important to teens, while offering them a safe, free space to socialize and explore their interests.

According to director and co-founder Caitlin McNulty, “The idea behind this organization is really to meld education and traditional after-school programming with mental health services. Internally, we call that ‘sneaky counseling’. In essence, we are trying to help kids build their toolkit of ways to cope [with life’s challenges] by having different mentor figures in their lives and access to different educational styles and supports. Our goal is to maximize their potential through educational and social programming, life-skills workshops, career-planning, tutoring, community service opportunities, and licensed counseling."

City Charter High School is proud to count BTOC as a partner in its internship program. Since 2015, more than half a dozen City High students have completed their internship requirement with a mentored experience assisting at this outreach center, acting as “teen mentors” and being exposed to a potential career in counseling or education.

At this community drop-in center, anywhere between 10 and 40 youth visit each day. There are a variety of activities to choose from including: art, STEM, homework help, video games, activities like pool and basketball which are open to use in a variety of ways.  There is also snack and dinner daily.  BTOC also hosts several focused groups throughout the week including cooking class, guys group, girls group, LGBTQIA+ group, and many more.

By providing a safe space with numerous opportunities for growth as well as fun, BTOC is giving teens a way to stay away from negative influences in the community and giving parents assurance of their children’s security.