Visions and Pathways (formerly Somerset Home for Temporarily Displaced Children)

Visions and Pathways (formerly Somerset Home for Temporarily Displaced Children) was New Jersey’s first private, 501(c)(3) non-profit youth shelter, incorporated in 1970 and opened in 1973. It is the mission of Visions and Pathways to provide abused, neglected and homeless youth with housing, a stable environment, and supportive services that guide them in becoming self-sufficient.

Visions and Pathways addresses the community problems of child abuse, homelessness, runaway youth, and families in conflict. The agency provides 11 programs: Brahma House residential crisis intervention program; Passages, My Place and Whitney House residential transitional-living programs; Prosperity independent-living skills education program; Street Smart street outreach program; Transitional Learning Center for in-house education instruction; Bridge House and Village House, which provide supportive-housing for young adults who are aging-out of the child welfare system, an Arts and Recreation Program, and Transitions Program to provide aftercare services and support for youth who have been discharged from a Visions and Pathways program. Most residential programs of the agency are licensed by the state Child of Protection and Permanency, and all are accredited through the Council on Accreditation (COA). 

The agency’s residential programs are located in Bridgewater, New Jersey. There is a satellite Street Smart street outreach office in Morristown, NJ. The Street Smart street outreach program is targeted to adolescents and young adults between the ages of 13 and 21 who are living on the street or in other unsafe environments and are at-risk of sexual abuse and/or exploitation/human trafficking.

Over 8,000 runaway, homeless, abused or neglected youth have come to seek shelter, food, clothing, and support services from Visions and Pathways since 1973.