Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County
Bridget Balajadia has extensive experience in social work and refugee foster care. Bridget began their career in 2012 as a Behavior Coach in the Milpitas Unified School District. From 2012 to 2014, they served as a Mental Health Counselor at Gardner Family Care Corp. In 2012, they also volunteered with the Peace Corps in Morocco, where they worked as a youth development worker and taught English and computer skills.
In 2014, Bridget interned with Catholic Charities USA, providing case management services for unaccompanied refugee minors. Bridget then joined Catholic Charities Refugee Foster Care in 2015 as an Independent Living and Education Case Manager, supporting refugee youth in their educational and career paths.
From 2018 to 2019, Bridget worked as a Social Work Clinician at Stanford Children's Health | Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford. In this role, they provided clinical social work services.
Since 2019, Bridget has been with Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County. Bridget initially worked as a Social Worker for Refugee Foster Care, assisting unaccompanied refugee minors with various resettlement services. In 2022, they transitioned to the role of Program Manager, overseeing programs within the organization. Bridget currently holds the position of Director of Parish Engagement for Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County.
Bridget Balajadia pursued their higher education at San Jose State University. Bridget completed their Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies from the university between the years 2007 and 2010. Later, they went on to pursue a Masters in Social Work from the same university, which they completed from 2013 to 2015.
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County changes lives for good. As the social service and social justice ministry of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of San Jose, Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County works toward building a just and compassionate community with all people in a changing Santa Clara County. We help people of all cultures and beliefs rise up out of poverty and overcome the barriers to self-sufficiency and wellness. Because most lives are a complex pattern of choices and circumstances, we take a holistic approach to helping people change their lives, taking into account the whole person, as well as their family and life situations. We do this in three ways. First, we alleviate the conditions of chronic poverty through food, housing assistance, access to benefits, senior services, and mental health services. Second, we reduce the effects of situational poverty by providing jobs, immigration legal services, refugee foster care, financial literacy, and asset development. Third, we prevent the cycle of generational poverty through early childhood development, parenting support, after-school enhanced learning, and youth empowerment. We strengthen our communities through parish and community engagement, immigrant and refugee integration, and neighborhood development services. Each year, we serve more than 40,000 people in need.