Bridges—Seattle APG holds space for youth to engage in safe, sober fun at their fully staffed drop-in center as well as at staff-supervised off-site activities. Bridges provides a full menu of services to holistically wrap ourselves around families in early recovery and beyond and connecting them to resources in the community for clinical and therapeutic support as well as higher levels of treatment. They offer the bridge from active addiction back to a meaningful life for youth and young adults ages 13-24 and their families.

Humble service, empathy, safe space and community.

Their Mission:

Bridges is an alternative peer group (APG) serving the greater Seattle area. An APG is a highly effective holistic wraparound service for youth in substance abuse recovery and their families because we harness the power of positive peer pressure to get and keep youth sober while working with the families to heal systems that keep kids sick. Through fun activities, the APG makes sobriety more attractive than using substances and literally saves the lives of youth that may otherwise be lost to drugs and alcohol. While the youth are having fun in their sobriety, the APG works with the families to educate and support them in changing their family systems to support their youth’s recovery. No longer are families alone, floundering in the dark. Through family support groups, book study and peer counseling, families are empowered to create systems that support healthy choices and boundaries.

About Bridges:

Bridges is a Seattle-based alternative peer group (APG) dedicated to bridging the gap from active substance abuse to meaningful, long-lasting, fun and enthusiastic recovery for adolescents and their families. We believe the best way to achieve long-term adolescent recovery is an empathetic, inclusive, positive, fun and enthusiastic network of peers with the same goal. Bridges uses the APG model as a wraparound service to create sustainable sobriety and recovery for teens and their families.

The APG model was created to address the emotional, psychological, spiritual and social needs of teens struggling with substance abuse issues. It focuses on peer connection, support, education, family involvement (whenever possible parent/guardian participation is required) and, most of all, enthusiastic recovery and fun.

Peer connection and support is forged in group sessions and 12-step meetings, and followed up by fun group activities, which can include music and art programs, camping, hiking, bowling, paddleboarding, kayaking and more. Making sobriety fun is what enthusiastic recovery is all about.

Support and education is an ongoing process. Knowledge is power and because addiction is a disease there is a lot to learn. In the APG model, we weave support and education through recovery support meetings for the teens, weekly meetings for the parents and weekly family meetings when parents and teens get together.

Family involvement is required. As the teen recovers, they change. For these positive changes to sustain, parents must also be on a new path of recovery as well. Research indicates that when the whole family is part of the recovery process, there is a much higher likelihood of long-term recovery for the teen as well as improved family relationships.

You Can Help!

The next immediate goal for Bridges; as promised at the event, is to raise another $7,000. This will make it possible to hire staff to grow their program!  We welcome you to share the donation link or attached QR code, support us by sharing our information on social media.

LOCAL TO SEATTLE? SERVICE WORK! IT WORKS IF YOU WORK IT! GET INVOLVED: They are already gearing up for their next event and are looking for sponsors and volunteers! Reach out to a team member at Bridges directly HERE. 

Bridges would like to especially thank their donors who championed the matching campaign.  Thank you Tricia Davis & Ben Haggerty of Macklemore and Matt Sauri of Wimmer Solutions!

Bridges Family Stories

Check out the Family Stories section of the Bridges website and learn firsthand the impact this organization is making with youth in the greater Seattle area.

Coping 101 is presented by C89.5 FM in partnership with Seattle Children’s producing monthly, student-led conversations covering a range of mental health topics from a teen’s perspective. We’re ALL feeling the past year, and there are ways to cope. Explore the many evolving resources hosted at c895.org/coping101

Made possible thanks to supporting sponsors Seattle Children’s, Teen Link and Imagine by Northpoint.

Addiction is a very common and very treatable challenge that faces an increasing number of Americans – especially among our youth. C89.5 fm joined with Seattle Children’s Hospital in presenting this episode’s student-led conversation around Addiction, Substance Use and Recovery. Listen and learn as Nathan Hale High School students share their own questions and concerns with this month’s special guest Dr. Ray Hsiao – an active Educator, Psychiatrist and Director of the Adolescent Substance Abuse Program at Seattle Children’s. Coping 101 is an ongoing series aimed at de-stigmatizing mental health with a new topic covered each month. We’re ALL feeling the past year, and there are ways to cope. Explore the evolving resources hosted at c895.org/coping101

PAY IT FORWARD: We at The Sober Curator are big proponents of giving. Whether time, talent, or money, we all have unique gifts to share with others. Besides wanting to be a good human, there are many reasons to give. Multiple studies on the topic reveal that people who give time and money are happier, live longer, and feel more connected. According to Pablo Picasso, the meaning of life is to find your gift. But the purpose of life is to give it away. Pay it Forward will help you do just this.

Our resource directory provides reputable, vetted, recovery-related organizations seeking donations and volunteers to help make our communities better. The Sober Curator is always looking for new opportunities to give. If you have a favorite nonprofit organization related to recovery & mental health that you think we should feature, please share it with us at [email protected]. 

Resources are available

If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulties surrounding alcoholism, addiction, or mental illness, please reach out and ask for help. People everywhere can and want to help; you just have to know where to look. And continue to look until you find what works for you. Click here for a list of regional and national resources.

The post Help Bridges Seattle Alternative Peer Group Grow Their Staffing appeared first on The Sober Curator.