NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 3, 2012
Contact: Lulu Todorov(215.825.8202 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Event Celebrates New Facility in Northeast Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA – On July 24, a group of over 70 individuals gathered at 1101 Adams Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia to break ground on a new, state-of-the-art facility for The Bridge Adolescent Treatment and Youth Opportunity Program, an affiliate of Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) and the only adolescent residential substance abuse treatment program in Philadelphia. The groundbreaking brought together city officials, board members, Bridge employees, current Bridge residents, neighborhood residents and other supporters. Sade Ali, Deputy Commissioner of the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health & Intellectual disABILITY Services, spoke at the event. Attendees also included Roland Lamb, Director of the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Addiction Services (OAS) and Marvin F. Levine, Deputy Director at OAS.
“Hearing Deputy Commissioner Ali talk about the importance of our work at the Bridge was a great reminder of the value we bring to our clients and to the city.” said Michael Ogden, program director of The Bridge. “The event was incredibly powerful and inspirational – it was a wonderful day.”
The Bridge’s new facility will transform a once-vacant urban lot into a vibrant space that provides housing and treatment space for up to 45 adolescent males (ages 14-18), an area for outpatient services, a school, plus a game room, fitness room, workshop and theater.“We are excited to move into a new building that was specifically designed to meet our needs,” says Ogden.
For the last 41 years, The Bridge has worked to decrease substance abuse, promote recovery and healthy lifestyles at its residential facility and encourage successful community and family involvement among its adolescent clientele.
The building is scheduled for completion next summer. Its new location was selected after Bridge staff and students attended a series of hearings in the neighborhood to discuss the process and the program with civic organizations and other residents. . The pre-design process also included input from senior administrators at PHMC, which oversees The Bridge.
Says Ogden, “A beautiful, state-of-the-art facility demonstrates our commitment to innovation and can help our clients to feel better about themselves.”
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About The Bridge
The Bridge provides quality, accessible treatment while preparing clients to re-enter their communities as drug-and alcohol-free members of society. A subsidiary organization of PHMC, The Bridge has helped over 10,000 people since 1971.The Bridge provides a comprehensive continuum of services including a residential substance abuse treatment program for 38 adolescent males (the only one in Philadelphia); an outpatient treatment program for people of all ages; a licensed private school; a home-based Continuing Care Program to support its residential program participants; the West Philadelphia E3 Youth Opportunity Center, which helps out-of-school youth and youth returning from juvenile justice placements develop academic, vocational, and life skills; and Bridge Intensive Prevention Service (BIPS), an afterschool delinquency prevention program. To learn more, visit http://www.thebridgephiladelphia.org.
About PHMC
Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) is a nonprofit public health institute that creates and sustains healthier communities. PHMC uses best practices to improve community health through direct service, partnership, innovation, policy, research, technical assistance and a prepared workforce. PHMC has served the region since 1972. For more information on PHMC, visit www.phmc.org.
