LifeBridge Community Services, Inc.

To address the most critical needs of the people of Bridgeport, LifeBridge has aligned its service offerings to deliver on its mission of partnering with Bridgeport’s youth and families to build resilience. Our approach is to provide a helping hand up through opportunities that have lasting impact. Structured to address the holistic needs of youth and their families, key services are offered in three areas: The Center for Youth Development, the Family Resource Center, and a robust Integrated Behavioral Health program.

LifeBridge has realigned it programming as it has over the pat 170 years, to best meet the needs of the community it serves. Our goals are to be a resource for psychological, emotional and family support. We aspire to give young people the tools they need to expand their horizons and ensure their continued success in school and to dream big.

We are providing families with skill building opportunities that will result in better paying jobs and a safer more stable family home as we strive to meet their immediate needs regarding food, clothes and shelter.

For those struggling with mental and behavioral health issues, our goal is to help them feel safe when they get up each day and not live in fear of what the day might hold.

The Center for Youth Development is designed to provide young people in 6th through 8th grade the opportunity to experience enrichment opportunities that will inspire curiosity, expand their knowledge of the world and the various cultures around them, and empower them to explore their own creativity. Hands-on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) activities enable them to develop key life and critical thinking skills while honing their ability to lead and excel in life, thus addressing systemic life challenges at a strategically early stage in their growth and maturity.

Family Resource Center is focused on providing a holistic approach to connecting families with the help they need to become resilient and provide safe, supportive homes for their children. One in every three children in Bridgeport lives in poverty, so helping parents to receive the resources they need, whether it is food, clothing, or counseling support, is vital in helping the family as a whole and in preparing children for success.

Integrated Behavioral Health programs offered in Fairfield and at the Bridgeport headquarters provided services to 1,700 individuals this past year. These services included coordinated health care, psychiatric evaluation, help and treatment for substance use disorder, and individual and family counseling. All of these services were provided by a team of licensed clinical professionals working in collaboration to ensure that individualized service plans addressed the needs of the whole person rather than addressing a singular issue.

Founded in 1849, LifeBridge has been dedicated to providing services to greater Bridgeport’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged populations for over 170 years. Services and programs have evolved over time to meet the emerging needs of a changing community.

LifeBridge serves up to 10,000 individuals a year through its core programming and subsidiaries. It employs a staff of 100 highly qualified professionals in their fields.

Urban Scholars program kicked off early in 2020. To date the program has served 54 young people in grades 6th - 8th by providing Summer Camp and After School opportunities. Programming is focused on engagement in STEAM activities to enable them to develop key life and critical thinking skills while honing their ability to lead and excel in life, thus addressing systemic life challenges at a strategically early stage in their growth and maturity.

In the past year, the Family Resource Center served people through a variety of support services:
1,000 individuals accessed basic needs items through the Community Closet.
268 moms and dads took advantage of the Diaper Bank.
70 adults were able to improve their work-readiness skills.

Integrated Behavioral Health services include coordinated psychiatric evaluations, help and treatment for substance use disorder, and individual and family counseling. All of these are provided by a team of licensed clinical professionals working together to address the needs of the whole person. 1,700 people accessed services this past year, in order to achieve their highest level of wellness.

Working from a Board adopted Strategic Plan for 2019-2022, LifeBridge has already aligned programming into the three identified core service areas: The Center for Youth Development, The Family Resource Center and Integrated Behavioral Health services. The Urban Scholars program which is key to the Center for Youth Development kicked off in early 2020, provided a Summer Day Camp and has just commenced the 2020/2021 fall/spring After School Program. Provided free of charge, the program is expected to serve 50+ students. Behavioral Health has internally shifted to a team approach so that clinicians treat the whole person in a client-centered approach to treatment.

LifeBridge plans to continue to expand its youth programming to reach both younger and older students and strengthen offerings through the Family Resource Center. A new website and re-branding will roll out by year end of 2020 that reflects the agency's renewed focus on helping families build resilience.

LifeBridge has been serving the community for 170 years. Beginning as an agency focused on widows and orphans it has grown, expanded and changed as the needs of the community have changed. It is our expectation that this continued adaptation and growth will continue to be part of the fabric of the organization and our new alignment of services is a critical next step that will make a lasting impact on the people we serve.