Bright Bridges Ministry amps up fight against homelessness, addiction
By 1970, Richards Memorial UMC had 1,250 members and a huge church complex with a sanctuary and numerous additions for offices, classrooms, a nursery, children's areas, a chapel area, lounge areas and more. Every Sunday, the parking lot was full.
Today?
"If you come on Sunday, you won't see a lot of cars parked out front of our church," said church member Cheryl Hinnen. "The people who attend here are homeless people and people from the neighborhood who talk or ride their bikes. There are people who will ride their motorized vehicles for blocks to get here."
Yes, church attendance has suffered in recent decades with demographic shifts and neighborhood changes. But the Brownsville church's mission has never been more vital or impactful than today, as its Bright Bridge Ministries has made it its mission to care for, feed and shelter those who are damaged, in need of help, in need of direction or maybe just a meal. As homelessness continues to hamper souls and city, ministries such as Bright Bridge and others are vital in the community.
Hinnen is the Bright Bridge Ministries assistant director.
"This church has been here for generations,'' Hinnen said. "But now, I tell people all the time to come see what's going on here now, because it's a beautiful thing."
In 2007, the nonprofit, faith-based ministry was formed and began a community food program and other social programs. Bright Bridge Ministries began transforming the once-bustling church office spaces and numerous rooms into a haven for those seeking help and change. Bright Bridge Ministries opened its His Place shelter in 2017, which houses men who are homeless and often suffering from substance abuse problems.
The shelter closed in 2020 because of safety concerns and was repaired and upgraded, reopening in 2022.
Bright Bridge also offers much more than a men's shelter, including a food ministry program from 10 a.m. to noon every Monday through Friday that is open to the public. Each weekday volunteers prepare hot meals for men, women and children who sit and eat in the Bright Bridge cafeteria. (On the day we visited, volunteers were serving up goulash, roasted potatoes, salad, croissants and pie to folks who were under a canopy outside Bright Bridge Ministries while it rained, waiting for the kitchen to open. A few carried backpacks and sleeping bags along with them, while one had a shopping cart filled with possessions.)
But many of the rooms that formerly served the church in other capacities are now converted into shelter space, with some emergency shelter available as well as beds for men who are part of Bright Bridge recovery programs. Currently, there are 50 beds at Bright Bridge. But soon, renovations will begin on another wing at the old church, largely unused, that will give Bright Bridge Ministries another 40 beds for men in need.
On April 1, Bright Bridge Ministries hosts a "Bridge to Tomorrow" kickoff event to announce and talk about the project. The event begins at 12:30 p.m. at Bright Bridge Ministries, 2600 W. Strong St., which intersects T Street. Renovation costs are expected to be between $1.25 million and $1.5 million. Bright Bridge Ministries has secured $500,000, and is hoping to raise another $250,000 by May 1, which would be doubled with matching funds.
The event will feature tours and a short graduation ceremony for men who have graduated from the ministry's Fresh Start Culinary Program, which teaches program residents cooking skills and techniques.
"We're going to be able to house at least 40 more men on top of the 40 men that already sleep here every night in our transitional home shelter,'' said Rev. Ashlee Mosley Brown, pastor of Richards Memorial UMC and Bright Bridge Ministries executive director. "Since around 2006, we really have dedicated ourselves to helping our neighbors and have become more of a social service agency, even though we're still a church."
Brown said that while the His Place shelter is for men only, all other Bright Bridge Ministries' programs and services are open to all.
Other Bright Bridge Ministries programs include:
Hygiene Ministry program where hygiene products are distributed
Adult literacy program
Yoga and meditation classes
Finance classes
Like skills, covering topics such as addiction, diabetes and healthy eating
Workforce development
All these programs are free and open to the public.
Bright Bridges Ministries is not a drugs and alcohol treatment facility, but does host meetings for various recovery groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Grace Recovery Group and more.
Men who stay in the shelter are referred by another agency or sometimes come off the street. They are assigned a case worker who starts crafting an individualized action plan. Some of the men are in the Level 1 shelter, where five to six men share a room, with each getting an individual bed in the partitioned room. There is no charge for those in Level 1 housing, but those who show progress and are able to find a job and save some money, are moved to Level 2, where there is a $400 a month fee, which includes shelter, food and program costs. Many of the men who make it to Level 2 have jobs and are able to pay the monthly fee and save money as well.
"This place changed me and has given me the tools to survive in this world as a man," said Shaun Abram, 54, a Level 2 resident fighting drug and alcohol addiction who has been in the For Him shelter for about three months. "I had burned all my bridges and addiction had taken over my life. It took it over completely, but this place has helped me realize my priorities."
He's found work but plans to stay in the program and at the shelter "for as long as it takes."
In 2024, 364 men were housed in the His Place shelter, with 113 landing jobs during their stay, and 62 men moving into stable housing.
While at the shelter, men are urged to volunteer and work in various capacities at Bright Bridge Ministries, including landscaping and kitchen work. After 20 hours of volunteer work, they are allowed to choose a bicycle from a collection of donated bikes at Bright Bridge Ministries, a bike they are allowed to keep.
Shelter manager James Donaldson said the men earn confidence as they clean up their lives while at the shelter. He knows their pain and struggle.
"I'm actually formerly homeless," Donaldson said, standing outside in a back patio area where men are allowed to smoke. "I'm a recovering drug addict and lived out of my car until I could get my act together and get back on my feet. That was almost 11 years ago."
Level 2 shelter resident Juan Lopez, 55, has been at His Place since October. He soon landed a job at a commercial laundry place where they provide laundry service to hospitals and other large institutions. He's saving money and hoping to leave soon.
"I'm here because I want to be here, not because anyone forced me to be here,'' he said. "You come because you want to get better. They teach you to respect yourself, because if you don't have respect for yourself, you can't give respect to others."
He's having success in his battle against addiction, and when I noticed his awesome Air Jordans and a few other pair of nice shoes in his semi-private room, he said that wouldn't have been possible before.
"Not with my addiction," he said. "It takes over you."
Bright Bridges Ministries also has a residential home for those who make it to Level 3, who are on the verge of leaving.
"They stay for as long as it takes," Brown said. "We tell them to make sure they're ready and just don't run out. We ask them if they have enough savings to handle that, and when they're ready and eager and able, then it's time."
Hinnen said she hopes potential community partners would see the benefit of the Bright Bridge Ministries "Bright Bridge to Tomorrow" project.
"I believe adding shelter beds in our community is a win for everyone,'' she said. "We have homeless people living on the streets now because we don't have a bed open. It's a win because we have people who have been able to find meaningful employment while here, and who have a bed and are finding stability. We have had families torn apart from addiction that have been able to find recovery, and so many times that leads to reconciliation for families. We think this is a project that the entire community can get behind."
For more information and ways to help, go to brightbridgeministry.org.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Bright Bridges Ministry fights homelessness, addiction at shelter.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
26-05-2025
- Boston Globe
Today in History: May 26, the World War II Dunkirk evacuation begins
Advertisement In 1775, 250 years ago, the Second Continental Congress resolved to begin preparations for military defense but also sent a petition of reconciliation, the 'Olive Branch Petition,' to King George III. That action took place one day after British generals William Howe, Henry Clinton, and John Burgoyne arrived in Boston with reinforcements for military commander and governor Thomas Gage. In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed a measure creating the Montana Territory. In 1869, Boston University is chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge signed the Immigration Act of 1924, which barred immigration from Asia and restricted the total number of immigrants from other parts of the world to 165,000 annually. In 1927, the Ford Model T officially ended production as Henry Ford and his son Edsel drove the 15 millionth Model T off the Ford assembly line in Highland Park, Mich. Advertisement In 1938, the House Un-American Activities Committee was established by Congress. In 1940, Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied troops from Dunkirk, France, began during World War II. In 1954, an explosion occurred aboard the aircraft carrier USS Bennington off Rhode Island, killing 103 sailors. In 1967, the Beatles album 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' was released. In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty in Moscow, following the SALT I negotiations between the US and the Soviet Union. (The US withdrew from the treaty under President George W. Bush in 2002.) In 1981, 14 people were killed when a Marine jet crashed onto the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz off Florida. In 2009, California's Supreme Court upheld the state's Proposition 8 same-sex marriage ban, but said the 18,000 same-sex weddings that had taken place before the prohibition passed were still valid. (Same-sex marriage became legal nationwide in June 2015.) 2009, President Barack Obama nominated federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor to the US Supreme Court. In 2011, Ratko Mladić, the brutal Bosnian Serb general suspected of leading the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, was arrested after a 16-year manhunt. (Extradited to face trial in The Hague, Netherlands, Mladić was convicted in 2017 on genocide and war crimes charges and is serving a life sentence.)
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Yahoo
5 centenarians celebrate 500 years of good living at group birthday party in Barberton
Five centenarians assembled April 10 at Pleasant Pointe Assisted Living in Barberton for a group birthday party that included proclamations from Mayor William Judge, music, cake and some lively stories. They lived through the Great Depression, World War II, the JFK assassination and 9/11 and are now enjoying their second century with friends and family. A half millennium of experience. "Some of these people have had friends since high school that they kept in touch with," said Ashley Lamp, activities director at Pleasant Pointe. Friendships, marriages and family were a familiar theme in their discussions. Here's a snippet of some of their stories. June said she and her two older sisters used to sneak off to Summit Lake before she was a teen for a swim. "It was always condemned," she said. "It was not open to the public." She served as a U.S. Navy WAVES 2nd class yeoman in World War II, stationed in Kansas. "I was in the personnel office," she said. She graduated from the University of Akron, finishing her degree in secretarial science, a four-year degree at the time. She had two daughters and was married to her husband for 64 years. June said she kept up with friends from her youth and Navy days. "I just had one of my best friends from the Navy pass," she said. "… Guys from the Navy would visit; we were a good group." Dolores said some of her earliest memories involve her father's Ford Model T car and trips from her home in Akron to see her grandmother. "We always went to Massillon where my grandmother lived," she said. "She was upset if we didn't come to see her every two weeks." Dolores said her first job at O'Neil's in downtown Akron was short-lived. "It didn't work out too well," she said. "My sister said I was too slow." More: The Romeo and Juliet of Brookdale Barberton prove love can come at any time She is a lifelong member of St. Mary in Akron, and worked in the church to help needy families. When television came along, she remembers going to a neighbor's house to watch TV before her family had one. "(She) always had everything first in the neighborhood," Dolores said. "… We went to her house some evenings. We asked to see TV once in a while (and) we loved it." More: Barberton political legend Kenneth Cox still active at 95 ❘ Good to Know She said she couldn't choose an earliest memory, but noted how time changes a person's perspective. "When we were little, every little thing amounted to something," she said. "Everything was big to us." Like Dolores, Lucy's family had a Ford when she was young and she recalls long drives in the car. Born in Cleveland, Lucy said her family wasn't wealthy when she was a child. She would help her mother can vegetables. "I cut so many green beans," she said. She was a good student, but her family didn't have the money for her to go to college. It was less common at the time for women to attend college for a degree, she said. She was 20 when she married her husband of more than 50 years, and they had four children. "I'm thinking about my husband all the time," she said. She remembers World War II and Franklin D. Roosevelt as president. "My dad cried when he died," she said. "I was in shock." Early in life, she had health issues, she said, but grew out of those over the years. She was a children's librarian at Twinsburg Public Library. Margaret, like June, spent some of her youth at the local swimming hole, a small creek in West Virginia. She married her first husband in West Virginia, but their marriage ended abruptly after a tragedy. "He worked in a coal mine and died in a mine accident," she said. She said he died when he got his foot stuck in a machine inside the mine. The coal company didn't provide much more than condolences, and reopened the mine the next day, she said. She married her second husband in her mid-20s and had four childen. Margaret attended business school, worked in a rubber factory and had four children. Susan, the senior member of the centennial club at Pleasant Pointe, lived in Barberton and New Franklin all her life. She went to business college and worked in an office. During Thursday's party, she serenaded Barberton Mayor William Judge with a brief song and requested a smooch. She also speaks Slovak, but sang in English. During the celebration, Judge presented a city proclamation to each of the women, listing their many accomplishments. "This is one of the greatest parts of the job," he told them. The five women are part of a growing body of centenarians in the U.S., most of them women. The number is expected to triple from about 101,000 in 2024 to 422,000 in 2054. "A lot of them (did not have) very easy lives," Lamp said. "It's incredible to see their personalities even though they've had such hard lives." Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@ Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj or Facebook at This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 5 centenarians celebrate in Barberton at group birthday party
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Yahoo
Bright Bridges Ministry amps up fight against homelessness, addiction
When Richards Memorial United Methodist Church moved to its current location off T Street in 1923, folks would come to services in their Sunday best, arriving in the popular automobiles of the day, from "Tin Lizzies" − a widely used term to describe the Ford Model T− to early Chryslers and Studebakers. By 1970, Richards Memorial UMC had 1,250 members and a huge church complex with a sanctuary and numerous additions for offices, classrooms, a nursery, children's areas, a chapel area, lounge areas and more. Every Sunday, the parking lot was full. Today? "If you come on Sunday, you won't see a lot of cars parked out front of our church," said church member Cheryl Hinnen. "The people who attend here are homeless people and people from the neighborhood who talk or ride their bikes. There are people who will ride their motorized vehicles for blocks to get here." Yes, church attendance has suffered in recent decades with demographic shifts and neighborhood changes. But the Brownsville church's mission has never been more vital or impactful than today, as its Bright Bridge Ministries has made it its mission to care for, feed and shelter those who are damaged, in need of help, in need of direction or maybe just a meal. As homelessness continues to hamper souls and city, ministries such as Bright Bridge and others are vital in the community. Hinnen is the Bright Bridge Ministries assistant director. "This church has been here for generations,'' Hinnen said. "But now, I tell people all the time to come see what's going on here now, because it's a beautiful thing." In 2007, the nonprofit, faith-based ministry was formed and began a community food program and other social programs. Bright Bridge Ministries began transforming the once-bustling church office spaces and numerous rooms into a haven for those seeking help and change. Bright Bridge Ministries opened its His Place shelter in 2017, which houses men who are homeless and often suffering from substance abuse problems. The shelter closed in 2020 because of safety concerns and was repaired and upgraded, reopening in 2022. Bright Bridge also offers much more than a men's shelter, including a food ministry program from 10 a.m. to noon every Monday through Friday that is open to the public. Each weekday volunteers prepare hot meals for men, women and children who sit and eat in the Bright Bridge cafeteria. (On the day we visited, volunteers were serving up goulash, roasted potatoes, salad, croissants and pie to folks who were under a canopy outside Bright Bridge Ministries while it rained, waiting for the kitchen to open. A few carried backpacks and sleeping bags along with them, while one had a shopping cart filled with possessions.) But many of the rooms that formerly served the church in other capacities are now converted into shelter space, with some emergency shelter available as well as beds for men who are part of Bright Bridge recovery programs. Currently, there are 50 beds at Bright Bridge. But soon, renovations will begin on another wing at the old church, largely unused, that will give Bright Bridge Ministries another 40 beds for men in need. On April 1, Bright Bridge Ministries hosts a "Bridge to Tomorrow" kickoff event to announce and talk about the project. The event begins at 12:30 p.m. at Bright Bridge Ministries, 2600 W. Strong St., which intersects T Street. Renovation costs are expected to be between $1.25 million and $1.5 million. Bright Bridge Ministries has secured $500,000, and is hoping to raise another $250,000 by May 1, which would be doubled with matching funds. The event will feature tours and a short graduation ceremony for men who have graduated from the ministry's Fresh Start Culinary Program, which teaches program residents cooking skills and techniques. "We're going to be able to house at least 40 more men on top of the 40 men that already sleep here every night in our transitional home shelter,'' said Rev. Ashlee Mosley Brown, pastor of Richards Memorial UMC and Bright Bridge Ministries executive director. "Since around 2006, we really have dedicated ourselves to helping our neighbors and have become more of a social service agency, even though we're still a church." Brown said that while the His Place shelter is for men only, all other Bright Bridge Ministries' programs and services are open to all. Other Bright Bridge Ministries programs include: Hygiene Ministry program where hygiene products are distributed Adult literacy program Yoga and meditation classes Finance classes Like skills, covering topics such as addiction, diabetes and healthy eating Workforce development All these programs are free and open to the public. Bright Bridges Ministries is not a drugs and alcohol treatment facility, but does host meetings for various recovery groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Grace Recovery Group and more. Men who stay in the shelter are referred by another agency or sometimes come off the street. They are assigned a case worker who starts crafting an individualized action plan. Some of the men are in the Level 1 shelter, where five to six men share a room, with each getting an individual bed in the partitioned room. There is no charge for those in Level 1 housing, but those who show progress and are able to find a job and save some money, are moved to Level 2, where there is a $400 a month fee, which includes shelter, food and program costs. Many of the men who make it to Level 2 have jobs and are able to pay the monthly fee and save money as well. "This place changed me and has given me the tools to survive in this world as a man," said Shaun Abram, 54, a Level 2 resident fighting drug and alcohol addiction who has been in the For Him shelter for about three months. "I had burned all my bridges and addiction had taken over my life. It took it over completely, but this place has helped me realize my priorities." He's found work but plans to stay in the program and at the shelter "for as long as it takes." In 2024, 364 men were housed in the His Place shelter, with 113 landing jobs during their stay, and 62 men moving into stable housing. While at the shelter, men are urged to volunteer and work in various capacities at Bright Bridge Ministries, including landscaping and kitchen work. After 20 hours of volunteer work, they are allowed to choose a bicycle from a collection of donated bikes at Bright Bridge Ministries, a bike they are allowed to keep. Shelter manager James Donaldson said the men earn confidence as they clean up their lives while at the shelter. He knows their pain and struggle. "I'm actually formerly homeless," Donaldson said, standing outside in a back patio area where men are allowed to smoke. "I'm a recovering drug addict and lived out of my car until I could get my act together and get back on my feet. That was almost 11 years ago." Level 2 shelter resident Juan Lopez, 55, has been at His Place since October. He soon landed a job at a commercial laundry place where they provide laundry service to hospitals and other large institutions. He's saving money and hoping to leave soon. "I'm here because I want to be here, not because anyone forced me to be here,'' he said. "You come because you want to get better. They teach you to respect yourself, because if you don't have respect for yourself, you can't give respect to others." He's having success in his battle against addiction, and when I noticed his awesome Air Jordans and a few other pair of nice shoes in his semi-private room, he said that wouldn't have been possible before. "Not with my addiction," he said. "It takes over you." Bright Bridges Ministries also has a residential home for those who make it to Level 3, who are on the verge of leaving. "They stay for as long as it takes," Brown said. "We tell them to make sure they're ready and just don't run out. We ask them if they have enough savings to handle that, and when they're ready and eager and able, then it's time." Hinnen said she hopes potential community partners would see the benefit of the Bright Bridge Ministries "Bright Bridge to Tomorrow" project. "I believe adding shelter beds in our community is a win for everyone,'' she said. "We have homeless people living on the streets now because we don't have a bed open. It's a win because we have people who have been able to find meaningful employment while here, and who have a bed and are finding stability. We have had families torn apart from addiction that have been able to find recovery, and so many times that leads to reconciliation for families. We think this is a project that the entire community can get behind." For more information and ways to help, go to This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Bright Bridges Ministry fights homelessness, addiction at shelter.
