What is Bridges

Mission:

Empowering high school students in family crisis to pursue education without obstacles.

Vision:

Identifying and assisting all students in need of Bridges’ services.
Serving as the benchmark for organizations nationwide that empower students to pursue education without obstacles.

What We Do

Quite simply, Bridges helps high school and college students who are living alone due to a family crisis, including the death of a parent, parental incarceration or chronic illness, or a traumatic home situation, to graduate high school and pursue a career or higher education. The support we offer includes school expenses, food, clothing, medical care, baby needs, dental care, and furniture. We also offer sliding-scale housing at Sooner Pointe apartments. Just as important, we provide an individual case manager who helps students with everything from college planning to relationship guidance, taking the time to listen, advise, and care.

What We Expect

Students who are accepted into the Bridges program are expected to treat school as their main job. They must maintain passing grades and attendance, which are checked weekly on the Norman Public School website, ParentConnect.

Students who reside at Sooner Pointe apartments, a Bridges property that offers sliding-scale rent based on income, are assumed to be mature adults who can conduct themselves accordingly. For more information on program requirements, see Who Qualifies?

How We Help the Community

We are proud to say that, after 14 years in existence, we are able to demonstrate that our program truly helps students become contributing members of society. We surveyed program graduates from 1999 – 2001 and compared them with those of the same time period who did not complete the program. We found that 50% of our graduates completed higher education, compared to 25% of non-graduates. Further, 25% of our graduates now own their own homes, compared to 0% of non-graduates.

Where We Operate -Sooner Pointe Apartments

Bridges owns and operates 22 one-bedroom apartments managed by the Norman Affordable Housing Corporation.

• The units offer project-based rental assistance, with rent calculated on a sliding scale according to income.
• These affordable apartments are available to students until they graduate high school and sometimes beyond, when they receive a Section 8 voucher to continue receiving affordable housing.