A beacon of safe, stable housing
for young adults

New Avenues for Youth and Bridge Meadows have joined forces to create an innovative housing community for transition age foster youth.  Leveraging Bridge Meadows’ intergenerational healing community and New Avenues for Youth’s self-sufficiency and life skills services expertise, we have combined resources to build and operate New Meadows at the Dorothy Lemelson House.

New Meadows is a life skills-building housing program designed to help young people who are ages 17-21, and aging out of foster care, to launch into adulthood. This program is meant to foster long-term connectivity and relationship between elders and families living in Bridge Meadows, and youth living at New Meadows.  Because New Meadow’s goal is for youth to increase their self-sufficiency, each participant pays a set program fee, which adjust as youth become financially stable.

Just one block away from Bridge Meadows’ North Portland community, this new community, made up of 10 studios and 5 one-bedroom apartments, offers youth the benefits of intergenerational care and support. One unit will be occupied by a Residential Advisor and the facilities will accommodate transitioning youth who may already be parenting children of their own.

About the House

New Meadows has fourteen total apartments, four one-bedroom units for single occupancy parenting youth, and ten single occupancy studios for non-parenting youth.  Each apartment has its own kitchen and bathroom, and the apartment complex has additional shared space (community kitchen/dining, laundry, essentials pantry, TV lounge, child play area), which can be used by all who live in the Dorothy Lemelson House.

Eligibility Criteria

• Must be able to live in an unsupervised environment.
• Age: focused on youth age 21 and younger, with opportunity for extension after 21st birthday
• Focused on DHS Independent Living Program (ILP)-eligible youth, some exceptions can be made based on circumstance.
• Must be current foster youth (care/custody or voluntary case).
• Must attend information session to ensure youth understands the environment.
• Willing and able to maintain 36 productive hours (volunteer, education, etc.).
• Priority is given to youth who meet all other criteria and reside in or have historical family ties to North/Northeast Portland (however this is not required to live at New Meadows).
• Willing to engage with the intergenerational community at Bridge Meadows.
• Parenting youth:  Must be parenting or pregnant (third trimester or later).

If you are a youth transitioning out of foster care and meet the above criteria, please fill out the New Meadows Interested Parties Form.

For inquiries, please contact Ashley Valencia, Program Manager, at avalencia@newavenues.org or Megan Glines, PDX-Connect Director, at mglines@newavenues.org