PROGRAM STRUCTURE
We are able to accomplish these goals because of the structure of our program.
1. Clients are kept in small groups.
2. Each one is treated as an individual with special needs.
3. Preparation for the GED is monitored to make sure that time is spent on learning the skills needed for passing the test.
4. Our classes focus on the soft skills necessary to get and keep a job.

BRIDGE services are open to residents of Mecklenburg County from the age of 16 and up. The majority of the students are ages 16-24 but no person will be excluded because of being "too old." All program participants must exhibit an economic or educational disadvantage, have multiple risk factors for dropping out of school or retaining a job, and cannot be assisted by other services in the community.

• Provide support services that will give severely disadvantaged youth dropouts, ages 16-21, the opportunity to finish high school.
• Provide a second change for adults, ages 18-40, who dropped out of high school to fulfill their dream of returning to school and successfully completing their education.
• Teach youth and adults the life skills necessary for them to become self-reliant, economically independent and contributing citizens of this community.
• Assist high school dropouts in developing a realistic plan that will help them achieve their educational, personal and job readiness goals.
• Facilitate opportunities for clients to develop skills needed for employment that will lead to economic independence.

The residents of Optimist Park and Belmont communities were the primary program participants in the early years. These communities are still the residences for most of our clients. BRIDGE services were later expanded to poor residents of Dillehay Courts and Tryon Hills sections of Charlotte through collaboration with Walls Memorial AME Zion Church. The BRIDGE Life Skills classes and Job Readiness classes are held there.

In 2001, a computer lab was added at St. Paul’s Baptist Church to provide computer training and access to the residents of the surrounding neighborhood as well as BRIDGE clients. The poverty rate is above 35% in 50% of the census tracts included in the neighborhoods served by BRIDGE.

The addition of a Work Force Development grant in 2001 targeting out of school youth, ages 16-21, BRIDGE was able to include more economically disadvantaged Mecklenburg teens who have dropped out of school but live outside the original target areas. From the beginning the program has used a holistic approach to helping individuals obtain economic self-sufficiency by providing personalized attention in a small group setting.

Workforce Development
Department of Labor
JobLink Centers
Bethlehem Center Project Head Start
Drop Out Prevention Task Force (Multi-agency)
Mayor's Mentoring Alliance
Charlotte Housing Authority
Mayor's Youth Employment
MORN (Employment for Ex-Offenders)
Department of Justice
Employment Security Commission
Weed and Seed
U S Probations
Project Safe Neighborhoods
Think College
CommunityLink
Uptown Men's Shelter
Urban Ministries
Crisis Assistance
Mecklenburg County Health Department
Fighting Back
Community Link
Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools
Eastside Community Corp
Energy Committed to Offenders
HOPE VI
Department of Park & Recreation
Loaves and Fishes
Good Friends
Good Fellows
Employment Round Table
Finding a Way
Gang of One
Project Safe Neighborhoods
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
ACS
Mayors Summer Youth Employment
Neighborhood Development
Probation Office
CATS
Walls Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church
Sherman Memorial Church of God in Christ
Christ Church
Employment Security Commission
United Way
Fill My Cup
Job Book of Local Employers
Brookstone College
Regions Bank
Duke Energy
Mecklenburg County Women's Commission
Supported Employment Services a Division of Mecklenburg County Open Door, Inc.
UCP Copymatic
Vocational Rehabilitation a North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
Child Care Resources
Education Foundation
Department of Social Services
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Senior Centers
Hope Haven
Dell Curry Foundation
Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation
Central Piedmont Community College
St. Paul Baptist Church
Jacobs Ladder Job Center
Goodwill Industries
Charlotte Area Fund
Charlotte Reads
Student Interns from Queens College, UNCC, Art Institute of Charlotte, Johnson C. Smith University, University of South Carolina, Webster University, Winthrop University