Bridge
Housing

We provide a safe, dignified community where people experiencing chronic homelessness receive support to move into permanent homes.

Where do people stay?

Bridge Housing is a community shelter model that accommodates people who are leaving behind unsanitary, dangerous living conditions on the street. New Beginnings welcomes people into our community of twenty individual cabins and a shared building containing commercial kitchen, bathroom/shower, laundry facilities. The community has a fenced perimeter and community-run garden. Staff are present around the clock to ensure the community is safe and supported. This environment offers people safety, dignity, and privacy alongside the resources they need to recover from homelessness. Bridge Housingmis able to help chronically homeless people stabilize even when they are not able to succeed in more conventional shelter environments.

How do people make progress?

People typically enter Bridge Housing after many years of homelessness. They may not have identity documents, may not be sober from drugs and alcohol, may have frequent involvement with the justice system, and may have serious health and/or mental health support needs.

Our community is resident-operated as much as possible. This means residents choose their own leadership council, form teams to keep the buildings and grounds clean, and shape the rules for living together as neighbors. The camaraderie and community expectations help residents develop their life-management skills and find purpose as they rebuild their lives.

Our support team includes onsite healthcare staff, social work, and life skills coaching. The Housing Specialist collaborates with each resident to build a personalized rehousing plan and meets with them each week to work on accomplishing their goals. The majority of our support team have experienced homelessness first-hand themselves so they are able to patiently support residents as they improve their health, increase their income, connect to support services as they move toward obtaining a home of their own.

Our Impact

Bridge Housing succeeds when we see people with chronic homeless backgrounds find health and stability and when they move out into long-term homes. As of summer 2024, 37% of Bridge Housing residents (15 people) have moved into homes of their own while other residents have achieved personal goals regarding their physical and mental health, increasing their income, and finding stability as neighbors in the community.

Where it is working

A growing number of towns and cities across the U.S. have found a practical solution to homelessness through the
construction of micro-shelter communities. Today these solutions are being proven effective initiatives to provide a housing
first solution that will transition persons into permanent, stable housing solutions.
 

Examples of transitional micro-shelter communities across the nation.

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