THE BRIDGE FOR YOUTH PROGRAMS

The Bridge for Youth serves over a thousand youth and their families each year, offering a full continuum of services from hotline and emergency services to longer term housing, with life skills and career development. Our services are available free of charge, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

PREVENTION AND FAMILY REUNIFICATION

The most effective way to prevent youth homelessness is to reunify youth and their families and help them develop the skills to work through conflicts before they reach the breaking point. The Bridge for Youth staff offers individual and family counseling to help support families.

CRISIS

Emergency Shelter

Fourteen-bed crisis shelter for youth ages 10-17, open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Last year there were 1,580 total shelter stays, including shelter reunification and emergency overnight stays, for 681 youth.

Family Counseling

Comprehensive family reunification counseling and other services for youth in the crisis shelter. Seventy percent of youth served are reunited with parents or extended family.

Phone Hotline

24/7 telephone crisis counseling to youth, parents, and other persons concerned about a youth. Our counselors responded to 5,970 calls last year.

Street Outreach

Many young people in need are found only through direct outreach and intervention on the streets of Minneapolis and surrounding communities. Street Outreach workers, in collaboration with Streetworks, provide information and referrals, basic needs supplies and mobile case management services for precariously housed or homeless youth.

HOUSING: TRANSITION TO HEALING

Transitional Housing

Eighteen units of on-site transitional living for youth ages 16-21 who are either homeless or aging out of foster care. Last year, 37 youth were housed through this program.

Independent Living Housing

Twenty-four units of scattered-site permanent supportive housing for youth ages 17-21, including pregnant and parenting youth. 41 youth were housed through this program last year.

Health Program

The Bridge for Youth has a licensed public health nurse on staff to conduct health education, assessments and coordinate follow-up health care for homeless and street youth, serving 700 youth last year. Our health program includes a health assessment within 24 hours of arrival in our residential programs, education on sexual health, chronic health conditions, nutrition and fitness, referrals for dental, medical or mental health, or chemical dependency treatment.

Youth and Family Counseling

Professional counseling for youth and families is available at no charge; offered both on-site and in-home. Our counselors served 550 families last year.

SUPPORT: REBUILDING STABLE LIVES

Transitional Living Programs

Support groups and individualized support services are offered for youth who have been in our shelter or other programs. More than 100 youth were served last year.

Building healthy relationships and living in the community are the first steps toward stability. Job and education counseling, computer labs, rental and life skills support all help youth learn the routines and habits of a productive life, supporting their education, work and housing goals.

Youth Empowerment in Action (YEA)

YEA reaches youth in our residential programs, support programs and in our community housing in surrounding neighborhoods. With a strong youth development focus, this program offers individual and group counseling, workshops, leadership and enrichment activities and trips for clients of The Bridge for Youth who are working on maintaining stable lives. This program is offered at our campus and at area schools. Specific groups are organized for young men, young women, GLBT youth, and youth dealing with chemical dependency. Annual retreats and opportunities for peer counseling are also offered. Additionally, a support group for parents of teenagers is offered weekly.

Teens Alone

Teens Alone, an agency providing services in the west metro, contracts with The Bridge for Youth for staffing and clinical supervision. Teens Alone serves the west metro suburban school districts, providing support and counseling to troubled youth and their families.

Results

70% of youth served in our shelter reunification program were safely reunited with parents or extended family
60% of youth participants in our transitional living program moved to stable living
100% of youth in transitional living were working and/or going to school
97% of youth in scattered site supportive housing retained their housing for six months

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