Bridges Homeward

Bridges Homeward is a Cambridge human service agency that helps children, adults and families build safe, permanent relationships. Its work centers on what it calls permanency: supporting youth in foster care, parents who want to foster or adopt, children and adults with disabilities and their families, and families working toward reunification. The agency supports nearly 1,200 individuals and families across Massachusetts each year.

It began in 1874 as a small orphanage near Harvard Square caring for 10 homeless youth, and it describes itself as one of the longest-running human service agencies in Greater Boston. For nearly half a century it operated as Cambridge Family & Children’s Service before taking the name Bridges Homeward in 2022. Its stated core values are dignity, respect, compassion and hope, and it raises funds through events such as the Cambridge Half Marathon and 5K along Memorial Drive.

What to Know

• Between Thanksgiving and the end of 2025, the agency distributed 377 holiday gift cards to families.
• Staff work a 33.5-hour, four-and-a-half-day week.
• Employees receive tuition remission and support for social work licensure.
• The agency is hiring staff to serve families in the Greater Boston area.