Residential Services
Our goal is to protect teenagers and young adults from the dangers of the streets and bring them into our shelters. Here, they will receive counseling services, basic needs, and the skills necessary to become self-sufficient. Our staff works to resolve the crisis responsible for displacing the child or teen and to obtain long-term living situations for their future. Under the direction of Kyeesha Clayborne, MA Director of Residential Services, we offer several residential program options for young people in the Greater Hartford region.
Residential Programs at the Bridge Family Center
Residential Services History
Our youth shelter in West Hartford opened in 1978 and has continuously served Hartford-area girls ages 11 to 18 whose lives are in crisis. In 2006, we converted our youth shelter to the Department of Children and Families' STTAR model, Specialized Trauma-Informed Treatment Assessment and Reunification. STTAR homes provide clinical and assessment services in a small, structured, home-like setting. Since that time, we have opened three additional STTAR homes; Hartford and Wolcott houses boys while West Hartford location serve girls.
From Dependent to Independent Living
In 1988, we created the Independent Living Programs, to help older teens develop a high level of self-sufficiency as they transition from dependent to independent living. These programs are overseen by our program director, Bryan Block. The three programs include:
Community-Based Life Skills
A year-long program for adolescents in the DCF system of care to help them gain independence.
Community Housing Assistance Program (CHAP)
Begun in 1996, this program consists of supervised scattered site apartments for DCF-committed youth 18 years and older to provide support and guidance in their final steps toward independence.
Moving On Project
In 1998, we began our Moving On Project, a transitional living apartment program in Manchester (originally in Hartford) to assist young men ages 16 to 21 in developing skills to live independently.
In fiscal year 2023, over 220 teenagers and young adults received assistance from our residential programs.
Our Goal is to Protect Teenagers and Young Adults
Our staff works to resolve the crisis responsible for displacing the child or teen and to obtain long-term living situations for their future.
