10-Unit Supportive Housing Facility For Displaced Youth Approved For Bridgewater

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — A 10-unit affordable housing facility for temporarily displaced young adults will be built in Bridgewater.

The Township Zoning Board of Adjustment approved an application on April 8 by Visions & Pathways, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, to develop the property at 8 Third Avenue and construct The Bridge House, which will consist of 10 studio apartments and accommodate very-low-income individuals.

"I am in favor of this application. Thank you to you folks... for looking after this population. They are in this situation, kind of no fault of their own," said Board member Claudio Vescio. "Really unfortunate circumstances that I’m sure they’ve had and this is definitely a benefit to the community and to those children to help them transition to adulthood."

Most Bridge House tenants will be young adults, ages 18 to 24, who have aged-out of foster care. The project will not serve any minors or anyone under the age of 18.

"It's apartment-style model where each of the individual units are apartments, or in this case, studios and they all have their own bathrooms, kitchenettes and living areas," said Asish Patel, who spoke with Monarch Consulting Company for Visions & Pathways.

Each unit is rented to somebody who is income-qualified.

"So very low-income individuals. In this case, aging out youth. Each person will be an adult, they will be signing a lease, they will be paying 30 percent of their income towards rent and it will be permanent housing," said Patel.

Bridge House will be staffed every hour of every day, and tenants will receive comprehensive support from the Behavioral Health Department, Prosperity, and other Visions & Pathways staff.

"Studies indicate that approximately 25 percent of youth who have aged out become homeless," according to the Visions & Pathways application. "Bridge House will help to redress the community’s need to provide stability for a high-risk population."

In 2022, Somerset County awarded the Visions & Pathways $1.165 million to support Bridge House.

"This is one of the largest grants in the County’s history and the single largest received by a minority-run organization. The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York also awarded $400,000 to support Bridge House," according to the application.

David Walker III, who spoke for Visions & Pathways, noted that each of the residents will be screened through their Prosperity Independent Living Skills program and through their Department for Children and Families.

To go through the program, the young adults must meet certain criteria, such as they can not have committed a felony or arson, and no violent crimes.

The application was ultimately unanimously approved by the zoning board.

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