BY MIKE FUHRMAN

After treading water for what must have felt like an eternity, Misty Langley has a reason to be optimistic about the future.

Langley has a new job at Walmart that pays $15 an hour, and in late April she found out her application for a rental home had been approved.

“I’m ecstatic,” the 39-year-old mother of two said. “I couldn’t believe it when I got the call.”

For the past two years, Langley and her children have been living in the Brookwood Inn, a pay-by-the-week hotel in Statesville that is often the last stop before true homelessness.

Her downward spiral was partially triggered by the death of her boys’ father and grandfather in 2022. “My dad was my last family,” Langley said. “It’s just me and the kids now.”

While Langley’s determination to provide a better life for 10-year-old Braden and 9-year-old Ty ultimately led to the improvement in the family’s circumstances, the Bridge Academy also played a major role.

“This program has been a big help. It’s been really good for the kids,” Langley said.

The Bridge Academy is an initiative of the Statesville Family YMCA that helps families who do not have a permanent residence. The program, which evolved out of the Y’s Summer Learning Academy, began in the fall of 2019. Tonya Wilson Reid, a long-time advocate for homeless students in Iredell County, played a crucial role in starting the program.

After taking a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, it resumed in late 2021.

There are 32 children in kindergarten through fifth grade in the program, all of whom were referred by Iredell-Statesville Schools. After school, the participants are bused to the YMCA after school. They receive a snack and academic help, and they get to spend time in a safe environment with their friends and a caring staff.

Participants get help with back-to-school clothing and supplies, and the YMCA also provides holiday meals and gifts for the families. The kids also get to spend a long weekend at Camp Hanes in the summer.

The YMCA also provides access to community resources like Pharos Parenting and Habitat for Humanity.

“I have just fallen in love with this program,” said Blake Blakley, executive director of the Statesville Family YMCA. “You can immediately see the difference.”

It costs the YMCA about $150,000 to operate the year-round program. The United Way of Iredell County provides financial support and I-SS provides pass-through funding from a grant. Private donations cover the rest.

It is money well spent, Blakley said.

“In 15 or 20 years I want kids to say, ‘We were in a rough part of our lives, but we got to go to the Y every day and be with our friends,’ ” she explained.

Brett Eckerman, executive director of the United Way of Iredell County, said the nonprofit’s investment in the Bridge Academy will pay dividends for the entire community.

“This program helps the whole family succeed and provides relief to the students and the families, academic support to help make sure those students in school, and an extra sense of belonging for families that might feel on the edge of our community,” Eckerman said.

But you don’t have to take Eckerman’s word for it.

Camie Bravo is a believer in the Bridge Academy. She was able to move out of a roach-infested motel after 18 months. She’s thankful for the time Lily and Angel get to spend at the YMCA and all of the support she’s received.

“It helps that they are not hungry when they get home,” she said.

For Megan Roche, the Bridge Academy was likely the difference between living in a motel and something worse. She could work in the afternoons while Claire participated in the afterschool program.

“The YMCA, if it wasn’t for them, I probably would have lost my job,” she said. “It’s a real life-saver.”

Nicole Ruetenik said having her children enrolled in the Bridge Academy has given her peace of mind and helped her financially during the past 18 months. She opted to move to the Brookwood Inn because she was worried her kids would get shot at their prior home off Wilson Lee Boulevard.

The YMCA, she said, has become a home of sorts during this stage of their life. Tyriek also plays soccer and Mickayla participated in cheerleading.

“It’s awesome,” Ruetenik said. “They get to do stuff that makes them happy. That makes me happy.”

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the May edition of “IFN Monthly.”