By Melissa Moore-Randall
The Revere Public Middle School Girls’ Basketball team enjoyed a fun afternoon last week courtesy of the Revere Police Athletic League. The afternoon included an intersquad scrimmage and pizza party. The girls were also treated to new warm up jerseys. Director Kris Oldoni and Revere Rec’s John Leone served as honorary referees. Revere Police School Resource Officers Bryan Brenes and Sgt. Joe Internicola helped keep the clock and offered encouragement from the sidelines.
Members of this year’s team are students from the Garfield, SBA and Rumney Marsh Middle Schools including Jenna Yelmokas, Rebecca Mercado, Kesley Morales, Andrea Basta, Valentina Cruz, Chloe O’Neil, Addison Ulwick, Sarah Lechheb, Anna Doucette, Destiny Borges-Kelly, Genevieve Zierten and Allyson Ollivierra. They are coached by Melissa Moore-Randall, a third grade teacher at the A.C. Whelan Elementary School.
The Revere Police Department established the Police Activities League as an alternative activity for at-risk and low-income youth to resist peer pressure. The primary goal of the PAL Program is to decrease the use/abuse of drugs, the negative consequences of drug abuse, youth violence, and delinquent behaviors in youth. The program is offered at no cost and is designed to establish trusting relationships between police and youth. It has been proven that PAL fosters self-esteem and promotes positive attitudes among youth, while at the same time generates leadership skills, and reduces dysfunctional behaviors and negative dependencies.
The Revere Police Activities League continues to work closely with the Revere Police Department, School Resource Officers, Juvenile Probation and the Revere Public Schools to identify gaps in services (ie: after school programming/weekends, school vacations and summer) and target specific strategies to address programming issues and challenges. Much of our efforts focus on information derived through the Youth Risk Survey which is administered by the Revere School Department. In addition, the Revere Police Activities League and the Revere Police Department frequently analyze crime/call report data to identify trends and problem areas within the community.
