• NWA has seen a growth in population of 65% from 1990-2006 & the non-white population increased by 350% -this causes stress related to mobility of families and youth
• 1 in 5 families  have no health insurance
• Poverty rate rose 13%-Arkansas ranks 48th among states with children living in poverty
• NWA had over 23,ooo reported cases of poverty and by 2015 it is estimated that our area will have the largest population of poverty statewide
• Lack of affordable housing
• Homelessness among youth increased by 30% since last study
• 44% runaway youth are due to family conflicts
• Approximately 8200 Arkansas youth were involved with DYS
• 91% of Arkansas youth in locked facilities have mental & behavioral disorders
• Total cost of treating a child in Arkansas lockup is $131,0000/yr
• Prevention programs can save as much as $14 for every $1 invested
• Community-based programs in Arkansas have demonstrated to be up to 93% successful in preventing future arrests

Northwest Arkansas is  negatively affected by youth that are experiencing some type of crisis- becoming homeless, abusing drugs and alcohol, experiencing mental health and behavioral problems, or needing to have a safe and supportive home. The number of youth experiencing problems are increasing. More and more families are having difficulties dealing with their child's problems. The lack of affordable, quality, and comprehensive services are in demand, as well as access to these services.  Youth Bridge has provided many of these key services and support to these youth and families in need.  Because of these increasing demands on Youth Bridge to provide more services, Youth Bridge is lacking the capacity to meet these demands.

Youth Bridge has been a gift to the community by providing  key comprehensive services.  After more than 45 years of serving at-risk youth in Northwest Arkansas  with quality staff, programs, and services to over 3000 youth annually, Youth Bridge remains the agency of choice by the State of Arkansas and the Washington and Benton County Courts to address the critical needs of the area's youth.  No other agency in Arkansas provides the level of extensive services to only youth that we can provide.

Youth Bridge has grown from an agency with only one therapeutic home for 12 youth and limited outpatient counseling, to an agency that now has six residential homes and the ability to provide outpatient counseling in 8 counties.  Our residential homes will typically see over 300 youth a year. Our outpatient workload is nearly 3000 annually. This growth has been due to the demand for  more youth services in our community. 

Our agency ratings among our clients and their families for  rating staff, programs, facilities, and services are consistently 4.6 out of a 5 point scale with 5 being the highest ranking. During the last several years, Youth Bridge has provided a number of unique and innovative services to be considered the "go to" agency for both Benton and Washington County Juvenile Courts,  The Department of Human Services, as well as our  schools, youth and their families. Our accomplishments include the following:

• We received national accreditation by the Counsel of Accreditation in 2007 for the very first time.
• We were certified in 2009 to accept Medicaid enabling us to provide for an underserved population.
• We are the only not-for-profit agency for court appointed community based services.
• We are one of three agencies in the State of Arkansas that provides residential substance abuse treatment and services for only youth. 
• Youth Bridge is the only agency in the State of Arkansas that operates a Runaway Homeless Youth  (RHY) transitional living program. 
• We offer  transitional living programs that help older young people ages 18-23 years learn independent living skills while living in either a group home or in an apartment furnished by Youth Bridge.   Our model of supportive housing for youth and the ability to address the needs of all homeless youth in one agency is very unique.  The majority of states  (as noted from the Administration for Children & Families) who have transitional programs only focus on one age group, or one defined category such as homeless and pregnant,  Christian based only, or only one sex-boys or girls.
• Youth Bridge's Transitional Living programs (TLP) offer innovative programs that provide comprehensive and ongoing residential living, counseling,  support, training and educational programs, and substance abuse services and therapy for clients for a duration up to 18 months.
• Our substance abuse residential program and outpatient substance abuse programs have been the choice of both the Benton and Washington County Juvenile courts system when youth must be placed into a program. 
• We have repeatedly demonstrated a good success rate in helping these youth transition back to society. Last year the improvement rate of youth staying off alcohol was 82% and 88% for those staying off of drugs once leaving the program. The national standard for improvement is 70%.
• We are the only provider in the State of Arkansas able to provide  a unique, goal-oriented, comprehensive treatment program called Multisystem Therapy (MST).  It is a family-focused and community-based treatment program.  This model is successful because all interventions focus on key aspects of a youth's life and work in collaboration with parents and other family members, legal guardians, school teachers, and other key figures in their lives.  Our highly trained therapists are available 24/7 These therapists provide the services in the home, school, neighborhood and community, wherever the youth needs us as a part of the treatment plan.

Our overall objective is to be able to make a difference in the community by providing the urgently needed programs and services to our youth and their families that are experiencing some type of crisis.  While we have been able to provide adequate services in the past, we are now faced with overcrowded facilities and  waiting lists of youth who desperately need our help. 

Our vision is to provide  the kind of  services and support needed to be able to help youth be safe, make good choices, and become the best that they can be.  And, we need your help to do so.

Youth Bridge plans to grow capacity to serve the needs of our youth and the community by building a comprehensive facility in Northwest Arkansas. This new facility will be built on the Don Tyson Parkway and will be a model facility to provide all the necessary services and programs with a full multi-disciplinary approach- all in one complex. 

Our goal is to be able to make more of an impact in the community by serving more youth.  Currently, we serve approximately 3000 yearly.  With a larger complex, we estimate we could see 1000 additional youth the first year.  With this larger facility, we will be able to provide more support services. Once completed in its entirety, Youth Bridge, located on the 40 acres of land on the Don Tyson Parkway, will be a complex designed to house all the Washington County operations in one location.  It not only will provide more capacity for services and programs, but it will enable us to address so much more -the ability to actually save the community in  future costs associated with the incarceration of youth,  youth dependent on social services, youth that are homeless, teens that are pregnant and unprepared for parenting,  youths that dropout from school, youth that become involved with  gang and other criminal activity, and youth that have alcohol and drug problems.   And the good news  is that according to Arkansas statistics that for every $1 invested in prevention $14 will be saved.  Give us $10,000 and we will save you $140,000.

Our action step is to build a nearly $20 million dollar complex  that will be inclusive of our residential programs for substance abuse, transitional living, and emergency services, and a school & education center, cafeteria and gym, and outpatient facility and support facility.  We will accomplish this in phases over a span of time with a capital campaign.

We are focusing on our most immediate need-to build a substance abuse residential facility and an outpatient counseling and treatment center, and an educational/school and cafeteria able to accommodate 100 residents.  Our lease is up on our current site and we must move. This first part of the plan includes having an on-site medical director, nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors; youth care workers, and an administrative staff.  Since the staff of Youth Bridge will not be split between multiple locations, we will have the ability to collaborate together rather than separately. The greatest benefit to the community is that with the comprehensive facility, up to 1000 more youth can be served the first year with better efficiency and service at a lower cost. 

With our facility we:

• will have direct services, counseling and therapy, an onsite school, program operations, and residential facilities. 
• will offer a unique youth-based model in our community.
• will be the only agency in NWA with the most extensive and comprehensive youth services/programs.
• will be able to address the pressing mental, behavioral, physical, mental, or sexual abuse cases, homelessness, and those impacted by substance abuse much more effectively. 
• will have a leading-edge facility equipped to address all of these problems under one roof with trained personnel and support staff equipped to provide services efficiently and effectively.

The new complex will have three buildings with a total of 46,000 square feet to include:

• A substance abuse residential center able to accommodate 100 youth a year, up 30% . 
• A complex that will house an onsite school/education center, and a cafeteria.  
• An Outpatient Counseling Center that will be able to provide:
  • Mental Health Support and Counseling (currently we average around 2700 and estimate with added support that we will be able to see at least, 1000 more youth for a total of 3700
  • Multi Systemic Therapy program ( currently we are only able to see 5 families and with our added support we anticipate to see 15 families the first year)
  • Office space to house our Safe Place Program (we have 30 remote  locations and with added support our estimate is to double that number)
  • Administrative Support Services
  • Offices for therapeutic teams:  counselors, nurses, psychiatrist, Medicaid ( we anticipate to serve  400-500 new Medicaid clients due to our ability to accept Medicaid.) 
  • Intensive Outpatient Therapy for Substance Abuse & Dependence

The total cost of this phase is approximately  $10 million including the land, the buildings, and the furnishings.  Youth Bridge has purchased the land and hired the architects who have produced the construction costs and diagrams for the first part.  We have $6 million committed to us from a bond incentive program with the State of Arkansas.   We  have $1.2 million pledged to us from private investors with Crews & Associates as a match when we raise an additional $1.2 million from our private and foundation donors.   We are ready to build our building as soon as we get our $1.2 million commitment.

Youth Bridge would like to request that you be a part of this vision through your contributions toward raising the $1.2 million. Our timeframe is immediate.  Once we have the commitment of $1.2 million, we can begin our construction. We have numerous opportunities for investing in Youth Bridge.

Want you join us?  Please complete the attached campaign flyer and mail to:  Nancy Hairston, Building Brighter Futures Campaign, 2153 E. Joyce Blvd. STE 201, Fayetteville, AR. 72703. Please feel free to call me to discuss naming opportunities and other investment opportunities.

Building Brighter Futures.  One Youth At A Time.

We cherish the support from our community. It is important for us to recognize and honor our donors for their support and generosity with their personal wishes through a donor recognition program, or with the wish to remain anonymous in your giving.

Specific naming opportunities for the new Youth Bridge complex are available.  All donors will be recognized on a donor recognition wall in the main lobby of outpatient wing.    Youth Bridge is happy to arrange a payment plan for your contribution.  For more information on how you can leave a legacy by naming a section of the new facilities, please call us at 479-575-9471 or email us at development@youthbridge.com.

Brick Campaign

Buying a brick for the new complex is a great way to honor and recognize your loved ones. It could be in memory of a parent or other loved one that has passed away, the celebration of a birth, graduation, or marriage of an important person in  your life, or just because you want to be a part of making a difference. The bricks will be installed in one of the many walkways that connect the buildings together.  Bricks are available at the following pricing levels:

$250 -standard size pave with 3 lines of text (16 characters per line including spaces).
$500- larger sized paver with 5 lines of text (16 characters per line including spaces).

Giving Levels Annually (gifts pledged may be paid over an agreed upon time period)

We cherish the support from our community. It is important for us to recognize and honor our donors for their support and generosity with their personal wishes through a donor recognition program, or with the wish to remain anonymous in your giving.

Our development team is available to discuss the many ways that you could help our youth.  We have volunteer opportunities that range from mentoring, providing residential & grounds upkeep to assisting in administrative duties and event planning.  In addition,  there are planned giving opportunities that will allow for endowments to perpetually keep the  many services and programs functioning at their peak.  We have opportunities for being a part of our building campaign by donating to the cause.  We have a number of giving levels and naming opportunities available.  We need for you to give us your pledge for the future.  Your gifts can be planned over time.  For more information on specific opportunities or if you would like to visit more in depth, please call Nancy Hairston, 479-575-9471, or email nhairston@youthbridge.com to schedule a time.

Naming Opportunities List Phase I:

Naming opportunity                              Description                                                                 Investment

Will this first phase be adequate enough?

Yes.  In order for us to manage growth and future needs of addressing the problems youth are facing, a phased construction plan has been implemented.  Phase I will address our most pressing need-to build a residential substance abuse facility, the education center & cafeteria, and a comprehensive mental health counseling facility that brings our Washington County operations all under one roof.  As we grow with our needs, future needs will be incorporated into the other phases of construction.

What are the future plans?

Additional services and residential homes will be added in phases.  Once complete, the entire complex will be a centerpiece for services to include residential treatment for substance abuse, those needing emergency shelter, and those youth and young adults who need help with homelessness and require support living, i.e., transitional living.  These residential homes will provide for over a hundred youth at one time each year and an estimated 600 each year.  Our complex will also include  a comprehensive outpatient clinic capable of seeing 3000-5000 youth yearly, an on-property school and education center, cafeteria, recreational area with developed areas for baseball, soccer, basketball, volley ball, and a covered pavilion, gym, and a computer lab.  Once completed, this nearly 86,000 square foot facility with 9 structures at an estimated final cost of almost $20 million, will be state-of -the art and will be poised to make a huge impact on the lives of many more Northwest Arkansas youth.

How Many Youth Do You Estimate Are Turned Away Each Year?

Our current facilities are limited in the number of  youth we can serve.  Our residential substance abuse program can only handle 26 youth at one time with those staying up to 6 months.  On any given month, there are anywhere from 10-15 youth that must be turned away immediately. The State of Arkansas has approximately 400 additional youth that need to be in a residential substance abuse program if money were available.  Teen homelessness is a large problem in Northwest Arkansas.  On any given night, over 1000  youth under the age of 18 are homeless.  Our transitional living programs are limited in that we can only accommodate a little over 20 youth at one given time. 

Isn't Residential Treatment Expensive?

Yes.  It costs at a minimum of more than $150 daily to keep a child in a residential program providing  food and shelter alone.  This figure does not factor in the amount required for therapy & counseling, training and education  with school and life skills preparation, clothing allotment, outings, etc.  Our solution is to work with the families and the courts to offer programs and services aimed at keeping youth out of residential treatment.  We offer programs such as our new Multi Systemic Therapy to work with the families intact at their own home or  our Intensive Outpatient Therapy Program that provides more intensive treatment than the regular outpatient counseling program and less than what would be required in a residential program.

I Already Give to Youth Bridge-Why Do You Need An Additional Gift?

We are funded through State contracts,  the United Ways, Foundations, fundraising and events, and donor campaigns.  The Annual Giving is an important part of maintaining our daily operations for programs and services.  Our State contracts have not been increased in nearly 15 years, yet our expenses have risen tremendously.  Additional giving helps us to fund the gaps where the State contracts cannot afford.  Our Building Brighter Futures Building Campaign  is necessary to assist us with the building of the new Washington County Complex.