Bridges of Norman, Inc.

Because of a catch-22 in state law, Independent Living Services for Youth (ILSY), now Bridges, should never have happened. Through the tireless work of dedicated volunteers and a legal change, it did.

In the early 1990s, counselors and staff at Norman High School noticed the emergence of a needy population: homeless teens. These students were not homeless simply because they didn’t like their parents; their reasons were much more serious. They were alone because of some sort of family crisis- perhaps their parents were incarcerated, or deceased, or homeless themselves. It was for these types of students that the Mayor’s Task Force on Youth Homelessness was created .