Program Serving At-Risk Youth Seeks Expansion In Bristol Twp.

The home of the nonprofit. Credit: Google Maps

The Neighborhood First program is looking to expand its facility at 1422 Bath Road in Bristol Township.

The Neighborhood First program, which has operated at the current location since 2005, serves approximately 25 to 30 youth daily and is seeking to add a modular structure to better accommodate its existing services.

“We’re at a place where we need additional space,” said Walter Mims, executive director of Neighborhood First. “The county would love for us to provide services for more youth. We just don’t have the space to do it.”

The program occupies a former tavern building on county-owned property adjacent to the Silver Lake Nature Center.

The proposed expansion would consolidate three one-acre parcels owned by the county to create more room for the program’s operations.

Neighborhood First provides structured activities – after school until early evening – to keep youth off the streets while teaching them life skills and socialization skills.

“We developed a program utilizing the peak hours for crime, which is after school hours till early evening, to kind of keep them off the street, give them something to do, teach them life skills, socialization skills and that sort of thing,” Mims explained.

The program primarily serves Bristol Township School District students between the ages of 13 and 17, with some prevention programs recently added for younger children.

Mims emphasized the program’s success over its nearly 25-year history, noting they collect data showing improvements in truancy concerns among participants.

The program works closely with Bristol Township School District and local district judges to ensure kids attend school.

“Judge Hughes has solicited our services on several occasions, as well as the other district magistrates, to ensure that kids are attending school,” Mims said.

The proposed modular building would help spread out activities and provide more comfortable space for the youth currently served, Deputy Bucks County Solicitor Dan Grieser said.

While the program isn’t immediately planning to increase enrollment, the expansion could eventually allow for a modest increase of three to five additional students.

“We’re just at a place right now where we need to create a little bit more space for our young people,” Mims said.

The program currently employs 10 staff members and operates six shuttle vans that transport students from school to the facility and then home at the end of the day. The transportation system eliminates most parent pickup and drop-off traffic at the site.

The county requested variances related to parking requirements and woodland disturbance.

The original plan called for 53 parking spaces based on township requirements for community centers, but after discussion with the zoning board, the county agreed to reduce the request to 45 spaces.

Grieser noted that the community center designation doesn’t perfectly fit the program’s actual use.

The reduced parking plan will disturb less woodland area on the property and address concerns raised by representatives from the Friends of Silver Lake Nature Center.

Alan Hermely, a board member for the Friends of Silver Lake Nature Center, expressed support for the Neighborhood First program while advocating for responsible development that balances the program’s needs with environmental preservation.

The nature center requests oversight on planted materials, a maintenance plan for proposed rain gardens, and the ability to monitor construction to protect biodiversity, Hermely said.

Kyle Loucks, a volunteer who conducts box turtle surveys in the area, said that the property contains habitat for Eastern box turtles, which are designated as a Species of Special Concern in Pennsylvania.

County officials committed to working with nature center staff to protect wildlife during construction, including implementing fencing options to protect box turtles.

The zoning board unanimously approved the variances with the condition of reducing the parking spaces to a maximum of 45, which will result in less woodland disturbance.

The project still requires land development approval before construction can begin.

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