ROGERS, Ark. (December 10, 2008) — The Jones Trust announced today that Youth Bridge is the first tenant to sign a lease for space in the Nonprofit Center being developed in the former St. Mary’s Hospital building in Rogers. When renovations on the building are complete, Youth Bridge will move into 7000 square feet of office space on the second floor of the building.

West Doss, chairman of the board of directors of Youth Bridge, said that the organization will offer services to youth in the areas of abuse, neglect, addiction issues and behavioral problems, and will now accept adults for outpatient counseling and therapy needs. Doss added “We truly appreciate the way the Jones Trust has worked with us to ensure that the former hospital patient rooms will be turned into counseling rooms suitable for working with youth and families.”

Roy Clinton, executive director of The Jones Trust, said “Youth Bridge exactly fits the profile of agencies we hope will move into the Nonprofit Center. They serve families from all over Northwest Arkansas and will be able to expand their programs because of the availability of this low-cost space.” Clinton added “there are several more agencies that are seriously considering moving into the building, and we hope that the renovations are complete by May 2009 so that Youth Bridge and others can move in and begin to serve clients.”

Youth Bridge is northwest Arkansas’ leading provider of comprehensive care to troubled teens and their families. They provide outpatient therapy and counseling, residential substance abuse treatment, emergency shelters, academic and social support, a therapeutic group home for teens involved in the juvenile justice system and a transitional living program for homeless young adults. Each year Youth Bridge serves more than a thousand teens and their families from an eight-county area in northwest and north central Arkansas.

Jones Trust will operate the former St. Mary’s campus as a nonprofit center, providing physical space and amenities for nonprofit agencies, health care facilities, and education. The Jones Trust, founded through the benevolence of Harvey and Bernice Jones, is the custodian for the buildings housing the Center for Families, the Family Resource Center, Jones Television and the Education Center in downtown Springdale, as well as the Har-Ber Meadows home of the NWA Community Foundation. Current Trustees of the Jones Trust are Dr. Joel Carver, Dr. Dan Ferritor, and Mrs. Betsy Phillips.

Nonprofit organizations interested in locating on the campus may contact Betsy Reithemeyer, chief operating officer for the Jones Trust, at 936-8218.