WESTBROOK — The Transformation Project is planning to open its housing for young adults transitioning from Long Creek Youth Development Center by March 1.

The nonprofit organization, which is located at 907 Main St., is also planning to open a first-floor cafe in the building by late spring or early summer. The coffee house, DJ’s Cafe, will be staffed by Long Creek youth.

The faith-based Transformation Project, which is in the former site of Ethos Marketing and Design, works to successfully transition juvenile offenders from Long Creek into society. The organization will host an open house on Thursday, Jan. 26 from 5-7 p.m. so Westbrook residents can get a sense of how the space will be used.

The open house will have music, food and a silent auction. Kids from Long Creek will be present as well.

Ken Hawley, the Transformation Project director, said it’s important for people to understand that the young adults who will be living and working there are capable of leading productive lives.

“Some people tend to get the wrong idea about these kids,” he said.

The open house is being hosted in collaboration with the Downtown Westbrook Coalition. 

“I’ve been using this as a way to be able to best promote new businesses,” the coalition’s director Abigail Cioffi said. “Ideally moving forward we’d like to use this as a model for open houses and grand openings.”

The Transformation Project will house two to three former Long Creek residents to start, but has froom for up to eight people. The four bedrooms, as well as two bathrooms, a dining space and a living room, will be on the second floor. Housing will be available only to males who are at least 18 years old.

The second floor also has an apartment for a house parent who will be responsible for overseeing the residents. That person will live there full-time, but will be allowed to hold a day job. Hawley said the Transformation Project is still in the process of hiring someone for this position.

Hawley said living at the Transformation Project will come with many rules and expectations.

“We want to be a part of this community,” he said. “We want to be more than housing or a business. We want our kids out in the community giving back.”

Part of integrating the young adults back into the society will be giving them the opportunity to work at DJ’s Cafe, which will seat around 40. Both males and females who are at least 16 years old can work there.

“We hope to give kids an opportunity they may not have otherwise,” Hawley said.

The cafe will serve coffee, pastries, breakfast, and lunch. Additionally, the Transformation Project will cater events in its event space at the back of the building.

To work at the cafe, the young adults don’t have to be living at the Transformation Project. Others who have transitioned out of Long Creek, who are in the process of transitioning out or who are still at the center, can also work there. 

“We offer opportunities for them inside lockup in order to reintegrate into society successfully,” Hawley said.

The people who will work at the cafe or use the housing have to be very serious about doing so, Hawley said. The Transformation Project works with kids while they’re in lock-up to determine who would be a good fit. 

Angela Fauth, the Transformation Project’s director of residential services, said the kids have to go through intense programming to prove they’re willing and capable of bettering themselves.

“It’s not just for anyone,” she said. “It’s for people who really want it and show the dedication to changing their lives.”

Hawley said he hopes the housing and work at the cafe will have a positive impact on the juvenile offenders’ lives as they move into adulthood. He said the event space will provide a good opportunity for that as it will allow the young adults to host performances and dinner theater. 

The hope, Hawley said, is that Westbrook residents will see the young adults in a new light and that the former Long Creek residents will envision a brighter future for themselves.

“We want to make that space a platform for the public to see how cool these kids are and how gifted and talented they are,” Hawley said. “We also want people to see the potential of these kids and how amazing they are.”

Kate Gardner can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 125 or kgardner@theforecaster.net. Follow her on Twitter: @katevgardner.

Ken Hawley, the director of the Transformation Project, plans to convert the second floor of 907 Main St. into housing for juvenile offenders who have transitioned out of Long Creek Youth Development Center.

Ken Hawley, left, the director of the Transformation Project, is planning a Jan. 26 grand opening of the organization with the help of Abigail Coiffi, center, director of the Downtown Westbrook Coalition. Kaitlyn Morse, a development volunteer with Transformation, is assisting in opening a cafe on the first floor of the building.