With a dynamic leader and team focus, Lowell youth center booming

CHRISTOPHER SCOTT - Sun Staff
Tuesday, February 17, 2004

LOWELL - The United Teen Equality Center made history last month.

After being in business for nearly four years, helping the city's teens cope with a myriad of complicated issues, UTEC printed its first newsletter, called In A Minute.

The name of Greg Croteau, UTEC's first and only executive director, appears nowhere in the four-page letter.

That's not surprising. UTEC is built on a foundation of teamwork. Everyone's the same at UTEC, whether they're an employee or a client.

"It's 50-50," said Sarah Gardner, the 21-year-old front-desk coordinator. "Before any decision is made, everyone gets into the act."

The team approach is woven so deep into UTEC's fabric that Croteau, a single man of 33, was hesitant to sit down for an interview.

It wasn't until he was assured that others would be interviewed, as well, that he felt comfortable.

"It's not me," said the humble Croteau. "The great thing we have going here is the whole team approach."

"He's the real deal," said Michael Gallagher, a member of UTEC's board of directors. "He is 100 percent committed to the mission of UTEC, which is for teens by teens."

The record shows that under Croteau's watchful eye, UTEC is growing.

In 1999, UTEC, which is tucked into an old church hall on Kirk Street downtown, started with one grant, a volunteer staff of three, and an annual operational budget of $40,000.

Two years ago, with an operating budget of $75,000, the board hired Croteau as the only full-time paid staff member.

Today, with funding from nearly 20 diverse sources (including private, city, state and federal), UTEC now has an annual budget of about $850,000, 10 full-time paid staff and eight interrelated departments within the organization.

Equally exciting, UTEC just received its own nonprofit status while maintaining its relationship with Community Teamwork Inc., its fiscal agent.

But again, Croteau, a native of Revere, where he still lives, deflects recognition to "the team."

"It's extremely well-run," said Gallagher, a lawyer and former member of the Lowell School Committee. "I think it's the biggest and best-run youth organization in the whole area."

All about relationships

The team philosophy is reinforced by two practices of UTEC staffers and members.

First, everyone says hello to each other.

Second, if it's your birthday, you'll hear "Happy Birthday" from many members of UTEC's extended family.

"They may sound like small things, but they're really huge," Croteau said. "It's how you build relationships, and relationships make everything else happen."

The son of a schoolteacher and city hall secretary, Croteau is an only child. He graduated from Dom Savio High School in East Boston in 1988, then from a private college in Connecticut and earned his master's degree in social work from the University of Michigan.

Since coming to UTEC, he has learned to speak Vietnamese because many of UTEC's 1,000 members are Vietnamese.

Croteau's favorite food, in fact, is cho gai, a Vietnamese chicken rice soup.

He loves to play baseball and read but hasn't much time for either.

"It's pretty much a seven-day-a-week job," Croteau said. "It's an all-consuming position."

The initial planning of UTEC dates back to 1997, when the Downtown Neighborhood Association and Lowell's Streetworker program were propelled by a group of teenagers who stressed that there was no place to "hang out" in the downtown area.

At that time, there was a high incidence of gang violence between Latino and Southeast Asian youths and, as it is today, the downtown area was regarded by teens as the one true "neutral zone," a safe environment where they could freely socialize without fear of gang or "turf" associations.

As such, both organizations quickly realized the need for UTEC to be located in the heart of downtown Lowell.

However, after initial funding, UTEC still faced the formidable question of finding a suitable and affordable facility.

After searching for nearly a year without success, UTEC decided to ask the downtown churches for help and quickly discovered that the 6,000-square-foot old parish hall of St. Anne's Episcopal Church was a perfect match.

160 teens on a given day

Over the past year, UTEC has seen many accomplishments, according to JuanCarlos Rivera, director of its Streetworker program.

Today, with an active membership of more than 800 young people, UTEC averages 160 teens coming through the center on any given day.

The center offers more than 20 different programs and classes during the course of every week.

Street workers such as Rivera have helped 48 young people re-enroll in school or alternative-education programs; mediated 22 street and/or gang fights; and helped 12 homeless teens find shelter in an independent living program.

On a typical day at UTEC, teens dance and work at unlearning stereotypes and prejudices. Some seek help finding a job. Others come looking for a lawyer. One young women came in recently for advice about her abusive boyfriend.

Teens cry at UTEC. They argue. Some come to "squash" fights.

"It's all why we are here to help put teens on a path to shine," Croteau said. "I think it's kind of cool."

Christopher Scott's e-mail address is cscott@lowellsun.com .