Social Bridges turns 20 this year!
Happy 20th Birthday to Social Bridges! It’s hard to believe that it has been twenty years since we began helping children, teens, and families in Central Florida. As Social Bridges comes of age, we’d like to share with you some of our hopes and dreams; taking a look at where we have been while looking forward to where we are headed.
Look how we have grown…
FROM: Working with young children in Maitland Community Park…
TO: Providing 16 skill building groups per week for kids from preschool to12th grade.
FROM: Two professionals, our founders Dr. Judy Levin and Carol Miller, LCSW…
TO: An interdisciplinary, seasoned team of professionals with expertise in child and adolescent development.
FROM: Offering exclusively in-person services…
TO: Shifting to a completely virtual program for a period of 1.5 years throughout the pandemic, allowing us to supporting children, teens and families across the country!
FROM: Offering primarily skill building groups…
TO: Adding 1:1 Social Coaching and small groups for those who have needs or schedules that are not conducive to the traditional group format.
FROM: Meeting on-site at the Social Bridges Center
TO: Meeting in natural settings within our community to help skills to generalize.
Social Bridges currently supports the community by:
- Helping children and teens connect with peers, generalizing skills through a variety of extra-curricular clubs and monthly hangouts.
- Providing parent support and training via a Digital Learning Library, which is available anytime.
- Incorporating life skills training into our curriculum to prepare young adults for life post-high school.
- Extending our virtual footprint through telehealth, removing geographic limitations.
- Implementing a trauma informed, CASEL-aligned, school-based curriculum for public and private schools throughout the country.
- Developing community partnerships through RAISE, a work and social skills training program for adults with disabilities.
- Offering Social Bridges to families utilizing Medicaid HMOs at Jewish Family Services.
- Serving as an internship site for University of Central Florida students.
- Providing professional development workshops for mental health professionals and educators.
- Offering certified training for schools through our annual Summer Institute.
A sincere thank you to those who have helped us.
As we reflect on the support of those who enabled us to get to this point, we want to give a heartfelt thank you to the many professionals who refer to our services – from neuropsychologists to guidance counselors, Speech and language therapists and occupational therapists.
Thank you to the Social Bridges families who have helped to spread the word of Social Bridges over the years. The highest compliment that can be given to us is to refer another family in need.
Thank you to the Roth Jewish Community Center for donating your space to us, so that we can work in-person with children and families in a more socially distanced setting.
We are grateful for our relationships with the following community organizations: UCF CARD – Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, the Central Florida Autism Network, and the Peace and Justice Institute at Valencia College.
Looking ahead, we will keep increasing outreach to the many children, teens and families in need of services. We also look forward to building new partnerships within our community. Check out our Facebook and Instagram pages (@SocialBridgesFL) as we countdown to our 20th Birthday Party Celebration!
Written by Dr. Judy Levin and Carol Miller, LCSW
Photo by Matthew Ball on Unsplash
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