{"id":1578,"date":"2020-11-05T20:35:09","date_gmt":"2020-11-05T20:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dallascityoflearning.org\/info\/?p=1578"},"modified":"2020-11-05T21:06:37","modified_gmt":"2020-11-05T21:06:37","slug":"bridgebuilders-offers-south-dallas-youth-safety-and-normalcy-amid-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dallascityoflearning.org\/info\/bridgebuilders-offers-south-dallas-youth-safety-and-normalcy-amid-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"BridgeBuilders Offers South Dallas Youth Safety and Normalcy Amid Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

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BridgeBuilders Offers South Dallas Youth Safety and Normalcy Amid Pandemic<\/h1>\n

When COVID-19 reached Dallas, Tracy Lindsey, the director of student services at\u00a0<\/span>BridgeBuilders<\/a>, knew the organization\u2019s response would need to be quick. Located in Bonton, the ministry nonprofit serves individuals and families in South Dallas communities, which have been among the city\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>most vulnerable ZIP codes<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe neighborhood we\u2019re in really doesn\u2019t have the same type of advantages and services that other neighborhoods have,\u201d said Lindsey, pointing out the lack of nearby grocery stores and Bonton\u2019s status as a food desert. \u201cThe first thing that came to us was food.\u201d<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"BridgeBuilders<\/a>BridgeBuilders immediately began serving lunches to youth and seniors in the area \u2014 in July alone, the nonprofit and its partners provided\u00a0<\/span>more than 4,000 meals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But the support didn\u2019t stop there. Lindsey and his staff began calling local parents every few days, checking in on how they were doing and finding out what was needed. In some cases, it was access to the internet, so BridgeBuilders partnered with Spectrum to help deliver hot spots.<\/p>\n

During the summer, the organization was also able to provide its virtual enrichment education (VEE) program through a partnership with the\u00a0<\/span>Noggin Educational Foundation<\/a>. BridgeBuilders was able to safely space out learners throughout the building, and in small groups, learners were able to do their virtual learning on their Chromebooks.<\/p>\n

This pivot meant programming that looked different than in past years, but the idea of doing nothing was never an option. \u201cIn March, when COVID hit, you have to understand: Our kids were behind anyway at school \u2014 we have fifth graders that can\u2019t read,\u201d Lindsey said. \u201cSo to be extra behind, that was something that we just couldn\u2019t live with.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new-look summer involved measures like temperature checks, masks and limiting the number of students per room. For Lindsey, the importance of being safe was something he underlined again and again to his staff.<\/p>\n

And while some of the summer may have seemed unfamiliar, with its lack of field trips and athletics, it was also a chance to learn something new. Lindsey and his staff quickly realized it was more important than ever to check in with youth and ask how they were feeling.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe always talk to our kids, but corona was scary for them \u2014 as an adult, it was scary for me,\u201d<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n

said Lindsey, who explained that they even added a lesson about what a virus is. \u201cWe have kids that didn\u2019t go to school, that didn\u2019t see their friends, that didn\u2019t get to see anybody, so that really affected us.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s essential, Lindsey said, to remember that these young learners are going through an incredibly tough time. That message tied in closely with the advice he would give parents and educators during this period: Have grace.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur kids have already experienced a lot of trauma,\u201d he said. \u201cOur kids use school as an escape, to get a meal, to see their friends, to see teachers that they like \u2014 positive adults. Because in the real world, everyone doesn\u2019t have the home environment that many of us are blessed to have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BridgeBuilders<\/p>\n

This approach to social and emotional needs is something Lindsey and his staff plan to continue this fall with their youth programming. \u201cOf course we want to have fun and we want their input on the programming, but we just need to check the temperature and gauge how they\u2019re feeling in their everyday life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On Aug. 8, BridgeBuilders held its annual I Got Your Back night, where local youth are able to pick up backpacks filled with toiletries and school supplies. This year, the event \u2014 which was a drive-through service \u2014 distributed 300 backpacks. \u201cIt meant more this year because we wanted the kids to get some semblance of normalcy,\u201d Lindsey said. \u201cLike, \u2018Hey, let\u2019s get excited to go back to school.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

And although, just like the new school year, BridgeBuilders\u2019 youth programming will look different for the time being, the nonprofit\u2019s approach remains the same: to reach out to communities and find ways to make an impact. It\u2019s a plan that\u2019s served them well so far. \u201cWe pivoted,\u201d Lindsey said, \u201cbut we were able to shoot and still make the shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

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BridgeBuilders Offers South Dallas Youth Safety and Normalcy Amid Pandemic When COVID-19 reached Dallas, Tracy Lindsey, the director of student services at\u00a0BridgeBuilders, knew the organization\u2019s response would need to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1579,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"1080","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-partner-highlight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dallascityoflearning.org\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dallascityoflearning.org\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dallascityoflearning.org\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dallascityoflearning.org\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dallascityoflearning.org\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1578"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dallascityoflearning.org\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1578\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dallascityoflearning.org\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dallascityoflearning.org\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dallascityoflearning.org\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dallascityoflearning.org\/info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}