Maddie Summers Promoted to Residential Clinical Coordinator

We are pleased to announce that Maddie Summers has been promoted to Residential Clinical Coordinator of our Residential Services Program! Maddie started with Bridges Homeward in May 2019 as a Clinical Case Manager Intern at Teens Learning Choices. She transitioned into the full-time Clinical Case Manager at TLC about a year later, in the summer of 2020. Maddie holds a Bachelor’s of Social Work from James Madison University and a Master’s of Social Work from Boston College. Her promotion is part of the program’s recent restructure. 

 
What does your new job entail?    

I supervise the case managers, permanency and life skills specialists, and clinical interns at both of our homes. I make sure that staff are increasingly learning trauma-informed practices, such as the ARC model, and I assist in overseeing our referral and intake process for new residents. I provide clinical trainings to staff and oversee the general clinical and case management work at TLC and Putnam to ensure our youth are receiving the proper clinical care.  

In terms of the bigger picture, I suggest and implement programmatic and policy changes in the behavioral management and clinical realms as necessary. I’m always checking to ensure that the changes we make and protocols we maintain are mission-driven, built to benefit our residents as well as improving our practices. I reach out to local community services and programs near our homes to build relationships, which can really benefit our residents. And when time allows, I engage with youth and family to provide therapeutic support, interventions, and suggestions. 

 
What’s your favorite thing to do at your job?   

When there is time, my favorite thing to do is to talk with the youth, educate them, and really just get to know them on a human-to-human basis. I love when I get to plant a seed and watch it grow, as they have their “ah-ha” moments. I love to teach, share my excitement about this field, and empower others to take back their voice and explore their passions and sense of identity, outside of their trauma and system involvement.    

Do you have a philosophy/motto with which you approach your work?   

See everyone as a human first. They are so much more than their trauma, their current situation, their past: they are humans.   

Do you have a goal you want to achieve at Bridges Homeward?   

To create some level of systematic change that addresses the need for placement of youth while also prioritizing their quality of care above anything else. Quality over quantity!