Bridge Meadows
The Bridge to Forever. Bridge Meadows.
Kids in Foster Care. It’s no secret that trauma has taken place in their lives in one form or another.
Elders. Not a secret that many old folks live out their lives alone and forgotten.
Bridge Meadows is changing these scenarios. Essentially marrying the two demographics and eliminating abandonment trauma.
The Angel Squad made our next visit a few weeks ago to Bridge Meadows on North Wayland blvd. First order of surprise what the modernism's of the building. We sat in a lobby with plush furnishings, wood scraped walls, and new fixtures throughout. Thinking: “hey, we’d live here!” From there we followed the fabulous Dr. Derenda Schubert, Executive Director of the establishment, to the library. Is what it is – a library. After the pleasantries we began with this smiley, sassy blonde- headed woman’s background – curious to know how she, a doctor, got involved in child welfare services. Her story is cool. She grew up around elders. She became the first in her family to obtain a college degree, a clinical psychologist degree and spend the next 25 years of her life working with the foster care system in some capacity. Think about that. 25 years watching the transformation of the system, and the kids that are going through it. I can hardly stomach reading an article about kid trauma but imagine staring it in the eye for 25 years. Longer story short, along with the elders, foster care is near and dear to her heart, she has two adopted kiddos at home. Just ask her about them, she’ll tell you everything. She even says their name in a perky unique kind of way that’s just fun to listen to.
So here we are in the library, surrounded by cool art on the walls donated by some local gallery, bean bag chairs and desks in the corner. Kids can come in to check books out, and like a library they get returned. We chatted with Derenda about the makeup of the organization, how foster kids are reunited with a member of kin ONLY and given a ‘don’t-get-me-started-on-how-nice-these-homes-are’ town-homes to live in, ALWAYS with siblings and all the amenities they need to begin the healing process. They come in broken, abandoned, confused and so forth – who better to love and care for them than their own kin. Brilliance. So to that end, what about the old-folks, the ones that Meals on Wheels visits and are left feeling forgotten but still have so much to offer the world. Derenda found a place for those folks too! In this compound lives elders who serve as just that – elders – they are old, wise and engaged with these kids. They can be called Grandma, Mom, Aunties, Grandpa (yes there are men too) and so on. One big happy family describes it to the “T”!
Back to the family homes – kids get their own rooms, it’s 4 bedrooms, 2 ½ baths, they have a front door that locks, they have a front porch to sit on, and a field of green grass to run on with other kids their age to boot! They can use anything within the facility. And best of all, the kids stay with the family member until graduation, and Bridge Meadows is so on top of things, they even cover “next steps”. More on that way later. The elders who pay a nominal sliding scale fee for rent, all contribute in their own unique ways – art classes, story tellers, outings, cooking, child care and tutoring. 100 hours per quarter are logged at the minimum. These elders are living again! They are needed again! What a beautiful thing.
So before I keep you too long about the Happiness Hour, therapy classes, support circles and community healing that goes on in this wonderland of a location, the Angel Squad’s mission is to share awareness and tell you how you can get involved. These are the things you can do, and can expect to see rolling out:
Dishes for the community kitchen – done, check and check. The Angels funded this.
Cook for the community one night | bring a class in – whatever kids and elders love to do | be Santa, Mrs. Claus, the Easter Bunny, The Tooth Fairy or Superman!
Teach a computer class
Invest into the new Brridge Meadows – oh, did I forget to tell you they are breaking ground this summer on a new development in Beaverton, yeah this model has caught fire!
And share the story, meet with Derenda or any of her amazing team, like Lani Faith and ask what you can do. Trust me, they’ll find something. Dare you to ask about the New Meadows breaking ground – a home for the aged out demographic – yes, the kids who are never adopted. The ones we all worry about the most. Just ask New Avenues for Youth.
In final closing I’ll say this: healing happens at Bridge Meadows. If you can’t contribute to the prevention you can be a part of curing.
Blessings to all,
The Angels – Jan, Refinement, Natasha and Krista
http://www.bridgemeadows.org/ Facebook: Bridge Meadows in Portland Oregon
About the Squad:
MISSION:
To increase positive awareness of local nonprofit agencies and local issues by blogging and sharing stories after personally visiting an organization’s operation. To honor and serve the time and dedication of an agency’s leadership.
WHO WE ARE and WHO WE SERVE:
The Angel Squad is a growing group of passionate and community-driven professionals. We founded the group under the genesis that there seemed to be a missing link between face-to-face giving and simply writing a check. Our mission combines the both. The Squad schedules semi-monthly visits with the senior level executive of local nonprofit agencies to hear its story and see the organization in action.
HOW WE SERVE:
1. Dedicate time, energy and attention to an agency’s leader
2. Tell the story of the agency through all Angel Squad media and social channels
3. Make direct asks through the story for needs of the agency
4. Meet a direct financial need of the agency thru Angel
5. Impact about the visit highlighted in follow up message