It has been a year of new possibilities at the Bridge. From developing new housing units to finding innovative solutions to our clients’ complex needs, the Bridge works tirelessly to support vulnerable New Yorkers who struggle with serious mental illnesses.
Below are some of our accomplishments.
| | | Breaking New Ground in Affordable/Supportive Housing | |
The Bridge is a recognized leader in developing and operating supportive and affordable housing for adults with serious mental illnesses. The Bridge recently broke ground in on a first-of- its- kind project in Brownsville, Brooklyn, that co-locates housing and light manufacturing in one building. Brownsville has the highest concentration of residents living in public housing and shelters in NYC, making it one of the highest need neighborhoods in the city. When completed, the building will have 87 supportive units for homeless veterans and frail seniors and chronically homeless adults with mental illness. There will also be and 87 affordable units for low-income families and workspaces for light manufacturers.
The project serves as an innovative model for creating much-needed affordable/supportive housing on an under-utilized manufacturing sites while also preserving manufacturing space and creating new jobs. | | New Programs Help Seniors Age in Their Communities | |
As a leader in operating supportive housing for adults with serious mental illness in New York City, the Bridge provides supportive services so our clients can age in their homes. The Bridge created the Critical Care Services program to deliver comprehensive services to older adults. Two new services complement our signature aging service program, which is the only program in NYC that combines housing, specialized geriatric care and mobile treatment services for this underserved population.
The high-risk program targets residents at risk of violence (to themselves or others), those with active suicide ideation and individuals with medical risks and provides a high level of clinical support. The HOME (Helping Organize My Environment) initiative supports residents with hoarding tendencies. The goal of the initiative is to work with residents to create and maintain safer home environments and address the stigma and shame often associated with hoarding.
Our services are designed to prevent frequent hospitalizations, incarceration, nursing home placement, violence, medical decline, unsafe living conditions and isolation. Our overarching goal is to help residents self-manage their complex conditions with minimal support and maximum independence. | | Expanding Community-Based Work with Safe Options Support Teams | | The Bridge is one of the first agencies in New York City to receive funding to operate 4 Safe Option Support (SOS) teams to engage people living in the street and assist them in accessing mental health and substance use services. The SOS teams work primarily in the subways and on the street providing supportive services to individuals at high risk for recurring shelter, hospital, and prison admissions. Staff provide intensive support over a 12-month period to help persons transition from the streets to a more stable setting with the goal of acquiring permanent housing. Our multi-disciplinary teams will enroll over 95 clients per team where they can receive treatment and support services. Since April, 89 people have been enrolled in the program. | | | | The Bridge is excited to add an additional Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team, bringing our total number of ACT teams in Manhattan and the Bronx to eight including 3 shelter teams and 1 forensic team. ACT teams deliver comprehensive services to individuals who are diagnosed with severe mental illness and whose needs have not been well met by more traditional service delivery approaches.
Office settings can be a barrier to care for clients with complex behavioral healthcare needs; therefore, the Bridge offers community-based services in a client’s home, in a shelter, at the hospital or at a public location where the client feels comfortable. ACT teams are clinics on wheels providing a variety of medical, psychiatric, and vocational services in the community. Consolidating service delivery helps clients build trusting relationships with their care team and stay in their homes and out of hospitals and jails. | | | | To help our clients lead safe and healthy lives, we have created several initiatives to address substance use in our residential buildings. Staff is being trained on effective methods to help clients struggling with drug use, including education about drug toxicology, and identifying triggers that may lead to drug use. The Bridge also has a Narcan training program to teach staff how to provide Narcan treatment to save lives when a client overdoses. Narcan, or naloxone, is a prescription medicine that can quickly reverse an opioid overdose.
Staff has been working with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to coordinate getting the Narcan kits to our buildings and making them accessible in the community. In addition to the Narcan kits, the community boxes also have a QR code that can be scanned by a smart phone to access a training video for support in administering Narcan.
Our goal is harm reduction and building trust, so clients feel they can confide in staff about substance use related issues | | | | The Bridge was excited to be able to gather at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on June 8th for The Bridge Gala 2022.The gala was an enormous success and raised over $800,00 to support our innovative programs. We were thrilled to honor Dominick Cama, Investors Bank; Thomas Canty, Anthem BlueCross BlueShield; Tony DiPietrantonio and Michael Pilla, D.P. Group General Contractors/Developers Inc.; and David Karnovsky and Penny King, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson.
Two of our clients received standing ovations for their heartfelt discussion of how the Bridge transformed their lives. | | Your support helps us provide essential services to over 4,000 vulnerable New Yorkers each year. Your donation is greatly appreciated! | |
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