Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Bridge Over Troubled Waters is a Boston nonprofit serving homeless, runaway and at-risk young people ages 14 to 24. It reaches more than 2,000 youth a year with services that start with survival needs, such as street outreach, hot meals, showers and laundry, and continue through residential programs, education, job training and mental health support. The goal is to help young people move from crisis to a stable, self-sufficient adulthood rather than a lifetime of dependence on social services.

Bridge has more than 50 years of experience in Greater Boston. Its trained outreach workers walk Boston and Cambridge neighborhoods daily, and its Mobile Medical Van, the first program of its kind in the nation, meets them each weeknight with medical care, survival kits, clothing and food. Volunteers can help through projects such as assembling summer survival kits, setting up the Welcome Center, serving deli lunches, dropping off prepared meals or running gift card drives.

What to Know

• Volunteer groups are capped at small sizes, such as up to five or eight people per project.
• Bridge is the local responder for the National Runaway Safeline and the Safe Place network.
• The organization holds an annual gala and auction to raise funds.
• Behavioral health counselors use trauma-informed approaches tailored to homeless youth.