PRESS RELEASE

SUMMIT, NJ — February 6, 2026 — Bridges Outreach, a leading nonprofit providing housing-focused outreach and long-term stability for people experiencing homelessness. today announced the appointment of Michael J. Callahan as Chief Operating Officer, effective February 17, 2026.

 

Callahan returns to Bridges Outreach following his service as Director of the Office of Homelessness Prevention at the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), where he led the state’s homelessness response across prevention, street outreach, housing placement, and systems integration. In that role, he oversaw several of New Jersey’s most consequential homelessness initiatives during the second half of the Murphy administration.

 

Prior to his state service, Callahan served as Director of Programs and Impact at Bridges Outreach, where he strengthened program operations, advanced performance measurement systems, and helped establish the organization’s evidence-based, housing-focused outreach model.

 

“Michael’s return comes at a pivotal moment for homelessness response in New Jersey and nationally,” said Rich Uniacke, President of Bridges Outreach. “His experience translating evidence-based housing strategies into executable systems while navigating increasingly complex federal and state policy environments is exactly what Bridges needs as we scale our impact. Michael understands that protecting client safety, operational integrity, and mission alignment requires both frontline fluency and systems-level leadership.”

 

At the state level, Callahan led or co-led initiatives that significantly expanded New Jersey’s homelessness response capacity, including:

 

• The tripling of unsheltered street outreach through the Rural and Suburban Outreach and Integrated Homelessness Prevention and Services programs;

• Bringing Veterans Home, the state’s initiative to functionally end veteran and National Guard homelessness;

• Medicaid-supported housing integration through the state’s 1115 waiver; and multi-municipal compassionate encampment resolution efforts.

 

His work emphasized close partnership with national organizations and focused on translating proven housing-first strategies into durable, locally executable systems.

 

Across both his nonprofit and state leadership roles, Callahan has been deeply involved in cultivating public-private partnerships, aligning state agencies, municipalities, philanthropy, healthcare systems, and service providers around shared housing outcomes. These efforts helped unlock more than $160 million in flexible capital, accelerate housing placement pipelines, and strengthen coordination between frontline outreach and large-scale systems change.

 

“I’m excited to return to Bridges at a moment when the organization is poised to deepen its impact and help shape what effective, compassionate homelessness response looks like in practice,” said Callahan. “Bridges has always grounded its work in what actually helps people move from crisis to stability, and I’m eager to build on that foundation — strengthening systems, partnerships, and pathways that move people safely and sustainably into housing.”

 

Callahan has also played a key role in helping organizations and public systems anticipate and respond to a shifting federal policy environment, particularly as homelessness policy and funding become more restrictive or misaligned with evidence-informed practice. His experience positions Bridges Outreach to protect mission integrity, operational stability, and client safety while navigating ongoing policy uncertainty.

 

As Chief Operating Officer, Callahan will oversee Bridges Outreach’s core operational functions, including program execution, systems and data strategy, cross-agency coordination, and organizational scaling.

 

“Bridges Outreach has grown into a trusted leader in housing-focused outreach and systems change, with influence that extends well beyond Newark,” said Richard Brown, President of the Board of Bridges Outreach. “Michael’s leadership reflects the organization’s evolution — from delivering critical frontline services to helping shape how communities and institutions respond to homelessness more effectively. His return underscores the strength of Bridges’ model and our commitment to continued growth, impact, and accountability.”

 

About Bridges Outreach
Bridges Outreach is a leading nonprofit provider of homelessness services and prevention in Essex, Union, and Somerset counties. Bridges helps people move from crisis to safety, and from safety to long-term stability and self-sufficiency. Meeting people where they are, Bridges fills gaps left by other systems through street outreach, intensive case management, housing navigation, and housing sustainment support. Bridges knows homelessness isn’t solved by housing alone and stability requires coordinated support rooted in dignity, trust, and accountability. Bridges doesn’t just respond to homelessness; it demands change, working to make it rare, brief, and nonrecurring and moving every person closer to home. Learn more at www.bridgesoutreach.org.