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New youth center aimed at preventing teen crime to break ground in Atlanta on Friday

The @Promise Initiative aims to help Atlanta youth succeed and deter them from 'mischief and petty criminal activity,' according to their website.

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Police Foundation will break ground on their fourth @Promise Center Friday afternoon off Martin Luther King Drive. 

The @Promise Initiative, run by the Atlanta Police Foundation, aims to guide "vulnerable youth away from mischief and minor criminal behavior, steering them toward more promising paths," according to their press release. 

The program, founded in 2017, has three other locations across Atlanta. The Atlanta Police Foundation website adds that it has already worked with over 2,000 people. 

RELATED: How this Atlanta youth center works to help alleviate teen crime

The organization accomplishes its goal of preventing teen crime through recreational activities for youth ages 12 to 24, as well as therapy, educational assistance, GED classes, arts and music instruction and more. The Atlanta Police Foundation adds that the program also offers criminal record expungement services for those who need them.

The groundbreaking ceremony will feature speakers from the Atlanta community, including Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickins, Chief of Atlanta Police Darin Schierbaum, Councilwoman Andrea Boone and the President and CEO of the Atlanta Police Foundation, Dave Wilkerson. Staff and youth from the other @Promise locations will also attend.

The release from the Atlanta Police Foundation adds that an unnamed company donated $3 million to the construction of the new center. This company will be named and thanked at today’s ceremony.

The groundbreaking ceremony takes place on Friday, June 14, at 3 p.m. at the location of the new center. The address of the center will be 2175 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Atlanta, GA 30310. 

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