GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Bridge of Arbor Circle provides temporary shelter to young West Michiganders experiencing homelessness, with the goal of creating long-term stability.
It’s a space providing shelter for runaways and those on the verge of or already experiencing homelessness. Young people ages 10-17 can stay at The Bridge up to 21 days, with the end goal of finding stable housing.
During their stay, they receive transportation to and from school, individual treatment plans, access to individual or family counseling, and connections to resources in the community, all at no cost.
“They have wonderful spirits, they just find themselves in very tough… in just not ideal situations,” said Kimo Smith-Cox, youth development specialist at The Bridge.
The Bridge also provides the opportunity to work towards stability, while mending broken relationships that may have led them here in the first place.
“It really focuses on advocacy for the youth, but also trying to help youth and families just kind of settle whatever issues they’re experiencing together,” said Ashlyn Alexander, supervisor at The Bridge.
“We are aware that many of the youth are in very acute crisis,” said Smith-Cox. “But we, our goal isn’t to remind them of that every day, our goal is to make them feel safe.”
This year, the program has helped more than 800 youth in the community, and provided 18,000 different services. The services include case management groups, social and recreational activities, crisis calls, and aftercare.
The young people that walk into The Bridge in need of shelter are not the same when they leave.
“We often see that transition from, you know, just uncertain, unsure to feeling really comfortable in finding themselves, finding their voice,” said Alexander.
The Bridge is one of many divisions and services at Arbor Circle, an organization focused on promoting healthy and thriving communities. In 2022, Arbor Circle served a total of 12,000 people, with 1,700 of them being families.
“Families are the building blocks of our community,” said Enid Gaddis, director of equity and inclusion at Arbor Circle. “We can’t have healthy and strong communities without healthy and strong family.”
Anyone interested in making a donation to Arbor Circle can do so on the organization's website.
