About - The Bridge Youth & Family Services

The Bridge Youth & Family Services Society is a not-for-profit, registered charity that has provided innovative and quality programming to the children, youth and families of the Central Okanagan since 1969. Governed by a committed Board of Directors, led by a seasoned Executive Director, and supported by a team of more than 75 professional staff and volunteers, the organization has consistently demonstrated its capacity to meet the needs of the community it serves.

The Bridge Youth & Family Services cmistím uɬ haʔn̓tim aláʔ iʔ tm̓xʷúlaʔxʷ iʔ sqilxʷ tm̓xʷúlaʔxʷ ʕapnáʔ uɬ cm̓ t spn̓kin. iʔ sqilxʷ t̓l̓ aláʔ iʔ stq̓aʔtkʷɬn̓iw̓t sqilxʷ uɬ scqʷl̓qʷál̓ts n̓syilxcn

Our Vision

Resilient Communities Where Everyone Thrives

Our Mission

We inspire healthy communities and resilient people through innovation, leadership and collaboration. The Bridge strengthens communities, families and people by offering a constellation of services and programs that reflect our commitment to the incredible potential of all we are honoured to serve.

Services currently focuses on five broad service areas, which include:

Parenting Education and Support
Addictions Services (Withdrawal Management and Intensive Residential Treatment)
Children, Youth and Family Counselling
Residential, Foster Home and Caregiver Support
Youth and Young Adult Outreach and Transition Services

Ultimately, the aim of The Bridge is to positively affect the lives of children, youth and families through leadership in policy development and innovative programming locally, provincially and nationally. The work we do is informed and guided by the following established principles and core values:

Acknowledgment of Our People

We value people as our most important resource and work to ensure our employees and volunteers are adequately trained, supported, and rewarded. We work to find a healthy balance between individual and organizational goals.

Honour and Respect

We recognize and support the fundamental rights of the individuals we serve, those who work for the organization, and our volunteers. We regularly seek feedback on the experience of those we interact with and take actions to remediate concerns or complaints in a timely and transparent manner. We believe services that are voluntary, involve the program participant, and are the least intrusive in the shortest period of time demonstrate the respect to which we aspire.

Strength Based

The Bridge recognizes the inherent strength and value in each person with whom we work and believe that everyone, regardless of circumstance, requires opportunity to grow, connect, and be supported. We strive to ensure that all individuals who access the services of The Bridge, feel respected and valued.

Community Collaboration

We cooperate and form partnerships with other agencies, governments and businesses, for the purpose of providing quality service for those who are supported by The Bridge. We openly and freely share information and resources that will enhance the lives of Individuals within the communities we serve, and increase the capacity of the communities in which they live.

Inclusive

We strive to provide equitable and accessible services to all, overcoming and reducing barriers wherever possible. As a culturally competent and diverse organization, we model respect for gender identity, sexual orientation, spiritual practices, ethnicity, age, ability, socio economic status, language, and culture.

Sustainable

We operate with a focus on both corporate and individual responsibility to support sustainability: social, environmental, and fiscal. We are responsible stewards of the resources we are entrusted with and conform to our legal, moral and fiduciary responsibilities.

Excellence and Innovation

We embed continuous quality improvement systems as a cornerstone of our organizational culture and our work. We implement ongoing measures of effectiveness and efficiency, explore the most current research in related fields, and work to meet or exceed the most current standards of programs and services associated with accreditation and best practices in the field. We subscribe to a code of ethics to further ensure accountability.

Leadership

We believe we have a responsibility to provide leadership in advancing conversations and progressive social policy change on behalf of those we support and the broader community in which we offer our services.