Stepping in when life leaves someone without a voice.
Guardian Bridge recruits, trains and supports stipended guardians for adults who can no longer make their own decisions and have no family, no healthcare proxy and no one to speak for them.
We are accepting referrals. If you work with, or know, an adult who has no family, no healthcare proxy and no one to advocate for them, please reach out. We are a new organization, and we will talk through each situation with you honestly.
Thousands of people have no one to speak for them.
When an adult can no longer make safe decisions about their health or care, and there is no family, no healthcare proxy and no power of attorney, a court may need to appoint a guardian. Too often there is nobody to appoint.
Sources: Boston Globe, Feb. 2023; MA Guardianship Policy Institute, Ten-Year Report. The state's Public Guardianship Services program serves only Suffolk, Norfolk and Plymouth counties.
What we do
Four connected programs, all aimed at one thing: that every person receives humane, personal care and decisions that honor their dignity.
Guardian recruitment and training
We find, screen, train and support caring people to serve as guardians. Guardians receive a modest stipend per engagement, so serving is sustainable and accountable.
Court-process support
We guide guardians and families through the paperwork and the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court process, one clear step at a time.
End-of-life planning workshops
Plain-language workshops on healthcare proxies, advance directives and MOLST forms, for the public and for people most at risk of having no one to decide for them.
Supported decision-making education
Guardianship should be a last resort. We promote less-restrictive alternatives that help people keep as much control over their own lives as they can.
Why a stipended model
Existing approaches sit at two ends. Pure-volunteer programs are low cost but hard to staff and sustain. Fully professional programs, like the state's pilot with paid social-work case managers, are high quality but expensive and limited in reach. Guardian Bridge sits between them.
Trained
Every guardian completes screening, background checks and training in guardianship basics, medical decision-making, ethics and reporting duties.
Supported
Guardians are not left alone. They have guidance, oversight and a case-management layer, the pattern used by successful programs in other states.
Stipended
A modest stipend, funded by grants and donations, recognizes the commitment and helps us reach more people per dollar than a fully staffed model.
For hospitals, elder services and courts
Most people we can help will come to us through professionals who see the problem first. We want to work alongside:
- Hospital discharge planners and social workers
- Hospice and palliative care teams
- Elder services agencies (ASAPs and Area Agencies on Aging)
- Adult Protective Services
- Probate and Family Court self-help centers
If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. To report suspected abuse or neglect of an adult, contact your local Adult Protective Services intake line.
Become a guardian
If you are patient, reliable and want to make a lasting difference for someone who has no one else, we would like to hear from you. We will open our first training cohort once our program design and funding are in place. Tell us you are interested and we will contact you as soon as it opens.
Support our work
Grants and donations pay guardian stipends directly. Guardian Bridge, Inc. is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) public charity, so contributions are tax-deductible to the extent the law allows.
Online giving is not open yet. To give, sponsor a stipend, or talk about a grant, please get in touch below.
About Guardian Bridge
Guardian Bridge, Inc. is a Massachusetts nonprofit corporation based in Northampton. We serve Berkshire, Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties and the Worcester area. It was founded by William Thron, a former general manager of an industrial manufacturing business, who is building the organization with a volunteer board.
Guardian Bridge provides education and support. We do not give legal advice. Guardianship is a legal process, and anyone involved in one should consult a qualified attorney.
Get in touch
Tell us a little about who you are and how we can help. We will reply by email.