Television celebrity Amy Roloff said it best at an annual gala celebrat- ing the accomplishments of Bridge Meadows: “It’s a business case.” Bridge Meadows is an innovative concept that creates and inspires in- tergenerational communities to enrich the well-being of children, fami- lies, and elders. By providing a platform to create permanent adoptive family situations for high-risk foster children, the organization has - on short order - achieved its vision to create a world where every gener- ation is cherished. Beginning in 2004 after being inspired by the book Hope Meadows by Wes Smith, Portlanders Rhonda Meadows and Pam Resnick toured the Rantoul, Illinois Hope Meadows Community firsthand. After a weekend visit, they said “Let’s do this,” and set their goals to create a similar type of community in Oregon. After a six-year process that included local support from the City of Portland, the square block campus opened in 2011 with nine family homes able to accommodate three to four children and their adoptive parent/s and 27 apartments for elders. Children benefit from wisdom of years of life experience from the “grandparent figures” who hold the keys to such benefits as a library and computer room, and a weekly “Happiness Hour” brings the entire community together. Under the leadership of Executive Director Derenda Schubert, PhD, the experiment has been so successful that it won The Eisner Foundation’s “Eisner Prize” for its intentional design for parents, foster children, and low-income adults. Other entities took note and a similar campus was opened in Beaverton, Oregon in 2017 and Redmond, Oregon in 2021. Schubert and her team have built a sustainable, results-driven organi- zation that includes trauma-informed architectural design. While the work has been successful and saves an estimated $1 million per child in future costs, Schubert is constantly fielding calls from municipalities and other groups throughout the country to learn how to implement their own successful versions of the flagship “enterprise” of hope.
Derenda Schubert, PhD, Executive Director, Bridge Meadows Learn more at: www.bridgemeadows.org
Tale of two Philanthropies a business case for giving
With a goal to build dignity, restore power, and promote autonomy, Path Home empowers families with children to get back into housing and stay there. By envisioning a community where no family experiences homelessness and where they receive the support and compassion necessary to thrive, the organization has evolved from its beginnings as the Goose Hollow Family Shelter in Portland, Oregon’s First United Methodist Church to a multi-dimensional model that includes Life Lab Skills Training (tenant education, life skills, parenting) and case man- agement. Since its founding in 1994, the organization has grown exponentially to meet the needs of the changing environment in Portland. Brandi Tuck, the organization’s executive director, started in 2005 as a volunteer kid time and overnight host and has shepherded its development since assuming the leadership role in 2007 when Path Home had four part- time paid staff, including Tuck. Path Home provides trauma-informed, culturally competent services to over 500 families annually (over 1,800 children and their parents). Path Home uses trauma informed care in its programmatic practice with families. Trauma-informed care is a strengths-based framework that includes an understanding what happens in the brain when someone experiences psychological trauma like homelessness, and a commit- ment to respond in a way that emphasizes physical, psychological, and emotional safety for both clients and providers. It is the first and only shelter in Oregon featuring trauma-informed de- sign and architecture. The result is 3,021 families served since its in- dependent operation in 2008. With a housing-first model, 87% of its families have kept their housing long-term.
Brandi Tuck, Executive Director, Path Home Learn more at: www.path-home.org
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