Bridges Homeward

Bridges Homeward serves youth and families throughout the Greater Boston area. They operate six programs that cover four areas of care: foster care and adoption, developmental disabilities services, residential services for older youth transitioning out of foster care, family support and stabilization.

A word from our Member:

"At Bridges Homeward, we advocate for children, teens, and families. We help the people we serve develop healthy, permanent relationships and make sure they are living in stable, safe, and loving homes. As a result, they can build the resilience and power they need to advocate for themselves. For us, permanency is not distinct from anything we do. It is everything we do. We don’t offer quick fixes; we take a much more in-depth and personalized approach. Sometimes, permanency in our work means making sure a child can remain with their biological family; sometimes it means ensuring someone with a developmental disability can live with family instead of having to move to an institutional setting; and sometimes it means finding a child in foster care a forever family. Our list of success stories is over 145 years long."

Bridges Homeward recently became the Healthy Families Massachusetts provider for the Harbor Area, serving Chelsea, East Boston, Revere, Winthrop, and Charlestown. Healthy Families is a free and voluntary support program for first-time parents aged 23 and under. Young parents across Massachusetts can sign up for the program during pregnancy and continue up to the child’s third birthday. Home visitors from the program get to know parents and their babies in their home. They help parents build parenting skills, provide lots of resources and information about newborns and child development, and connect parents with opportunities to meet other families and young parents like them. They also help young parents set and achieve personal goals like staying in school or finding the right job for them. To learn more, sign up, or refer someone to their Healthy Families program, visit: https://www.bridgeshomeward.org/our-forms

Most of their services require a referral from DCF or DDS. However, you can inquire and sign up for the Young Parent Support or Healthy Families services on their website: https://www.bridgeshomeward.org/family-support-and-stabilization. If you want to foster or adopt with them, you can get in touch on the "Family Services" page: https://www.bridgeshomeward.org/family-services. If you want to learn more about their services, drop them a line on their "Contact Us" page! https://www.bridgeshomeward.org/contact-us.