Bridgewater haven with horseback riding for people with disabilities set to reopen soon

BRIDGEWATER — A longstanding hub for recreation, therapy and resources serving children and adults with disabilities is set to reopen thanks to a new partnership with Easterseals Massachusetts.

Easterseals last week announced a merger with The Bridge Center in Bridgewater and, according to Easterseals Massachusetts President Paul Medeiros, the tentative plan is to reopen late this year with limited programming and pickup to full swing sometime in 2023.

The Bridge Center, which has been part of the community under one name or another since 1963, closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Medeiros said there is a significant amount of renovation and cleanup work to be done before reopening, meaning the tentative plan to reopen later this year is hopeful, but unofficial.

“It’s still kind of early,” Medeiros said, referring to the reopening. “There was a lot of damage on the property, unfortunately. There was some vandalism and just nature taking its course over the last couple of years. So we're in heavy cleanup mode right now. 

“And we're certainly working at the same time on trying to set up programs, but I wouldn't want to give a definitive date right now.”

Same Bridge Center

The Bridge Center is a 22-acre property located on Pine Street in Bridgewater, complete with a barn and horseback riding area for use in popular equine-assisted therapy programs, an outdoor pool, and a small pond with a fully accessible island.

Medeiros said former fans of The Bridge Center can expect more of what they enjoyed in the past, but said Easterseals will be adding a few of its staple programs and areas of expertise.

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“The reason we started talking was we just had great synergy between the missions of The Bridge Center and Easterseals,” Medeiros said. “So people who loved what The Bridge Center was doing before, I would say it's safe to expect we'll be doing some of the same things, like horseback riding and accessible camp in the summer. 

But again, in going back to what prompted this initial conversation in the first place, we're also probably looking to bring some of the things Easterseals does to the property. We're really well known for our assistive technology program, we have rehab services, we do employment training, mentorship and youth leadership programming. So my expectation is that we're going to continue the really amazing things that The Bridge was doing and also bringing Easterseals programming onto the property as well, but continuing to serve people with disabilities and veterans with all the programs.” 

New partners 

The beginnings of the merger between Easterseals and The Bridge Center date back to before the pandemic, but were tabled upon closure of the facility in the spring of 2020.

Under the new agreement, Easterseals takes ownership of the facility, which will remain The Bridge Center, and adds to it significant resources from a much larger nonprofit organization, not limited to funding, infrastructure, staff, volunteers and donors.

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“The Bridge has been such an amazing organization providing services for 60 years, but they just felt like if they worked with a larger nonprofit then they could just make better use of their property and help even more people," Medeiros said.  

“So we had started that conversation about four years ago, and then the pandemic certainly sidetracked everyone for a while. But then we started the conversation back up and were able to finally complete the merger. So, it's exciting.”

Much-anticipated return

Medeiros said news of the reopening has been met with much excitement. Members of the community with disabilities were hit particularly hard by the pandemic shutdown and the slow build back to a fully open and accessible way of life, and the reopening of The Bridge Center offers another restored avenue for fun, connection and help with day-to-day needs.  

“We're slowly getting control of some of the social media so we're able to start posting and the feedback we've gotten from the community has literally all been positive, which I think in our world now that's so rare, but we have heard nothing but just people excited that Easterseals is coming and that we're gonna be reopening the Center.

“We've had so many people offer to volunteer and people applying for the job openings that we've begun to post. The community just seems to be very excited. So that makes me happy, too, because we really want the community to be involved.”

Accessible to all

Medeiros says The Bridge Center is particularly impressive as a fully-equipped and fully-accessible facility.

“You'd be amazed how many places there are for people with disabilities that are not always 100% accessible, and one of the things I've loved about learning about The Bridge Center and visiting the property and having my staff with disabilities visit the property is that they can literally access every area." 

“So whether it's the barn, or there's an island in a little pond on the property and the bridge is totally accessible to get over to the island. There are a lot of paved walkways and things like that."  

"For a camp, you'll find a lot of times at a camp you can't access certain places in a wheelchair or if you have any kind of difficulty with your mobility, but at The Bridge Center, it's just everything is geared towards being open to everyone, so it's really refreshing.”

In a press release announcing the merger and reopening, Tom Walsh, immediate past president of The Bridge Center’s Board of Directors, said: “Easterseals Massachusetts has proven leadership and expertise in providing programs that empower individuals with disabilities. On behalf of the Board of Directors and the children and families we serve, we are thrilled to see the core values of The Bridge Center continue and see our participants reach their full potential.”

Also, with the reopening come a number of job openings, both at the professional and entry level, according to the announcement.

Taunton Daily Gazette staff writer Jon Haglof can be reached at jhaglof@tauntongazette.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Taunton Daily Gazette today.