Diakon Youth Services Southeast (The Bridge Program)
A foundation for success…
That’s what Diakon Youth Services’ Bridge Program is. The Bridge Program is a community-based, weekday support and intervention service that provides a goal-oriented approach to accountability. The program helps adolescents build a foundation of self-discipline, self-respect, and respect for family, teachers, and the law.
The Bridge Program offers three components: a Male Alternative Program, a Female Alternative Program, and the Bridge Prep program for older adolescents of both genders.
While an effective stand-alone service, the Bridge Program becomes weeklong intervention when linked with the Diakon Wilderness Center’s Weekend Alternative Program, enhancing the efficacy of treatment. The program’s focus on accountability, including curfew calls and electronic monitoring, is supplemented by in-home or at-school visits, assuring close monitoring of youths’ activity and the opportunity to provide guidance as needed. Participants are held accountable for their actions and are reminded of consequences.
On weekends, youths are transported to our Diakon Wilderness Center campus near Boiling Springs, Pa. Here, counseling and community service are combined with outdoor- and adventure-based activities, targeting youths’ “behaviors in the community” for specific treatment interventions. Close communication between Bridge and WAP staff members assures that home, school, and individual issues are addressed promptly and consistently for maximum impact.
Involvement in the Bridge Program is designed to last about three months, with 10 weekends in WAP. Results are tied to meeting personal treatment and behavioral goals, while assuring community safety.
The Bridge Program encompasses:
- Weekly visits to the home, including meetings with parents or other responsible family members, who must be willing to support the youth’s efforts.
- Weekly visits to school, including meetings with school-based probation officer and school personnel.
- Weekly individual counseling, with treatment supervision by a master’s degree-level clinical director.
- A range of efforts focused on accountability, including random drug and alcohol screenings, curfew and truancy calls, and electronic monitoring.
- Community service projects.
- Support services, including facilitation of court-ordered stipulations and the provision of job- or education-related activities.
- Attendance at education and treatment meetings, as well as court hearings.
- 24-hour crisis intervention.
- Frequent communication with referring agencies, including immediate contact for violations, weekly telephone updates, and monthly written reports.
- Awareness and issues-education groups on such topics as drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and sexuality.
This regimen of face-to-face contacts with Diakon casemanagers promotes positive behavior through constant feedback and tireless encouragement. Teenagers who were struggling with drugs or alcohol get the help they need. As participants discard old, bad habits and replace them with positive new ones, they build confidence and self-esteem.
The Bridge Program serves male and female adolescents ages 12 to 18 referred by juvenile probation offices. Youths must be able to be maintained safely in the community. For maximum effectiveness, parents or a responsible family member must be willing to support youth involvement in the program.
Staffing
Bridge Program staff members who provide direct service to youths are bachelor’s-level counselors. Where required, they have been specially trained to oversee group activities around education and awareness issues. Treatment supervision and direction is provided by a master’s-level clinical director.
Information and referrals
The Bridge Program currently serves youths from Delaware, Chester, and Lancaster counties, although inquiries from other counties are welcomed. The program is also helpful to those returning home from residential program by adding discipline and structure to their life as they re-enter the community.
Referrals and inquiries may be made by e-mailing or telephoning Ron Davis at (610) 291-7731.