By Amanda Estes

Staff Writer    

    When Charlie Keaten was 13 years old, he brought a
firearm to school and as a result he has spent the last five and a half
years of his life on probation. Two weeks ago, however, Keaten came
within seven seconds of beating the world record during a 400-meter
race.

    On Aug. 4, Keaten plans to be part of a group of
male residents from the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South
Portland to run among the international group of elite runners
competing in the tenth annual TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K,
commencing at Cape Elizabeth’s Crescent Beach and ending at Portland
Head Light.

    The Long Creek Track Club is the brainchild of the
center’s chaplain, Tim Higgins, who for more than a year has been
leading residents in a half hour run at lunchtime.

    “Getting kids off ground is a big deal in and of
itself,” said Higgins of the upcoming race. Residents must maintain
good behavior and undergo a risk assessment before they can leave the
premises.

    “We make a decision-are they a flight risk, are they trustworthy?” said Higgins.

    As the young men, most between the ages of 16 and
18, take in some fresh air and exercise they also have the opportunity
to talk with adult volunteers who are serving as running mentors. Last
January, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) recruited
volunteers from the greater Portland area to participate in a new
program, Up and Running ME. The program is modeled after Students Run
LA, a California-based program that matches at-risk youth with adult
mentors as they prepare for the City of Los Angeles Marathon.

    “It’s truly about completing, not competing,” said
Karen Lenzen, Criminal Justice Manger with NAMI. “I came on board in
January and truly at the first meeting there was an abundance of
mentors–there was just such an outpouring of people who are typically
running the Beach to Beacon anyway.”

    Diane Dusini and Edie Dubord, a lawyer and social
worker respectively, are among a group of eight regular volunteers who
frequently attend the daily on-site training sessions and weekly 5K
runs along Portland’s Back Cove.

    Dusini and Dubord recalled the winter training
sessions in the gym when residents, without any proper running gear,
ran in slippers and basketball shoes with no shoelaces. Dusini took
charge of fundraising, asking other area lawyers for support and raised
enough money for race registration, gear, water bottles and occasional
Gatorade. Olympia Sports also boosted the program by donating sneakers,
shirts and shorts. With eight new residents joining the group, however,
Dusini said there is no money left for new gear.

    Dusini said residents must participate in three
sessions per week for three weeks before they are eligible for sports
gear so many residents run in T-shirts and khaki pants. Each runner
must demonstrate their commitment to the program and sign a contract
before they can receive the gear. If they break that commitment, they
have to return the gear.  

    Last Friday, Dusini, Dubord and Higgins led a group
of 10 residents outside to the gravel track. Just getting outside is a
20 to 30 minute process, Higgins said.

    “You have to recruit,” said Higgins, as he tried to
encourage residents to go outside. Attendance varies every day as some
residents may be prohibited due to unit restrictions or others may be
on an off-grounds trip while others may not feel like
running.          
 

    Seventeen year old Justin Kennie said when he first
started running he was just looking for an opportunity to get out of
his unit.

    “Now I’m really serious about it,” he said. Kennie,
who ran track in school, said he placed third in a 5K run during a
recent field day at the center. “I’ve found a hobby I enjoy. I plan to
run when I’m out.”

    Before entering Long Creek, Kennie said he “partied
too much and drank a lot.” Looking ahead, he plans to go to college to
study automotive technology. He also said he will continue to run with
the mentors after he leaves the center.

    “They motivate us,” he said of the mentors. “We have personal talks with them-they’re support.”

    Dubord said the program has had a major impact on
Kennie. Because of peer pressure, mostly gang related, Kennie was
placed in the high-risk unit for three weeks. Dubord said the mentors
advocated for Kennie to come back to the program, stressing that it
wasn’t a reward, but “an intervention for [his] behavioral health.”

    “Part of my work with them is to teach them to
advocate for themselves,” she said. “I knew the easy part was the
physical part.”

    Dubord said the greatest reward of the program has
been seeing their self-esteem grow as running offers them goals to
strive for.

    Higgins said he has witnessed within the residents
significant changes in attitudes and increased dedication to their
programs within the building.

     “They see themselves as being successful at
something,” he said. “[They’re] less angry, less stressed out, and have
less anxiety in their lives because they’re burning it up on the
track.”  

     When the Long Creek Track Club crosses the
finish line next week, the moment will be bittersweet, as Higgins will
be leaving Long Creek.

    He has faith, however, that with the mentors, the program will continue to thrive.

    “They’re in it, I believe, for the long haul,” he said.

    Dusini echoed Higgins’ belief that the program will continue.

    “It will be hard to fill his shoes,” she said. With
the support from Long Creek administration, however, she said the
program will keep going, hopefully competing in other events such as
the Maine Marathon.

    Long Creek Superintendent Rodney Bouffard was on vacation and could not be reached for comment.

    Keaten, who is scheduled to leave Long Creek today,
plans to get his G.E.D and attend college. He is interested in the
University of Southern Maine’s business management program.

     “They got me back on track with running,” he
said of Higgins and the program mentors. “Now they’re not going to let
me go even when I leave.”

    Individuals interested in making a donation to the
Long Creek Track Club may contact Diane Dusini at
ddusini@mittelasen.com.