Our mission is to foster relationships with individuals desiring to move out of poverty by providing tools, support, education, and connections to community resources.

Building the Bridge

Building the Bridge is a 12-module workshop for individuals living in poverty, to enable them to build their own path to a good-paying job, stable housing, and the ability to save for a rainy day. Participants are treated as the experts on their own lives, rather than expected to passively soak up information professionals deem necessary for improvement.

A $10 stipend is paid to participants at each session and an additional $50 is awarded upon completion of the program. A simple meal is provided at each session, as well as transportation and childcare as needed. To fill out an Interest Application or download a PDF version of the form, click here.

R Rules

R Rules is a workshop for teens, using “The R Rules: A guide for teens to identify and build resources” by Elizabeth Souther. The workshop, like Building the Bridge, helps individuals in poverty build resources and their own future plan. Participants are treated as the experts on their own lives, rather than expected to passively soak up information professionals deem necessary for improvement.

A stipend is paid to participants at each session and a lump sum based on attendance is awarded after completion of the program.

Crossing the Bridge

Crossing the Bridge is a support program for graduates of Building the Building the Bridge and R Rules, who are interested in going further. Encouragers circle around each individual in order to strengthen their skills as they connect them with people and resources so they can become self-sufficient and walk out of poverty. A meal, transportation, and childcare are typically offered for these meetings.

Discovering the Bridge

Discovering the Bridge is a workshop offered to community members, nonprofits, and businesses. Using a variation on Ruby Payne’s book, “Bridges out of Poverty", attendees learn how to build accurate mental models of poverty, understand why a culture of poverty is so hard to change and how to begin changing it, and improve agency policies and internal procedures to break down barriers that make it difficult for individuals to improve their lives. To fill out an Interest Application or download a PDF version of the form, click here.

Increasing Local Awareness

Bridges of Hope, Allegan County seeks to inform local agencies of our activities and the impact of poverty in the community.

Thank you for visiting. Please explore our website to learn more about Bridges of Hope, Allegan County.

Clearwater Financial graciously donates the office space we occupy.