Building Bridges

“Imagine you are standing at the edge of a cliff and want to get to the other side of a deep canyon, where you have been told that great happiness awaits you. As you search for a way to cross, you find a pile of supplies that, if put together correctly, will build a bridge to cross the canyon. If you don’t know how to build the bridge, the supplies will be useless and you will feel frustrated and hopeless. But if you get help from someone who has experience in building bridges, your knowledge and understanding can increase and together the task can be accomplished.” That’s how Alexis describes her journey with Bridge of Hope.

Alexis found herself in a tough position where she was working, but despite a recent promotion, she still wasn’t able to make ends meet. Health problems, and other unexpected challenges piled on and she realized she needed help to gain stability for herself and her then elementary school-aged daughter.

An issue arose with the place she had been renting and she was unable to find new affordable housing so Alexis and her daughter ended up staying in a hotel for a few months. With the help of her Bridge of Hope case manager, Alexis found a permanent place to live and begin building the bridge across that deep canyon.

Alexis and her daughter (middle) with Neighboring Volunteer Eli (left) and Jessica and her daughters (right).

Neighboring Volunteers began building their relationship bridge as well. They invited her daughter to events so Alexis could have time to herself. They took her daughter back-to-school shopping and helped Alexis get a new car battery. They helped with the move to their new home, made curtains for the kitchen and brought meals to lighten extra busy times.

Eventually, Alexis was able to share from her own experience. She had a knack for being resourceful to meet her family’s needs. When she found a good community resource, she would send it on to her case manager to help other families in Bridge of Hope.

But forming a friendship with Jessica, another mom in Bridge of Hope, was one of the greatest gifts to come out of building her bridge. “She became like family to me,” Alexis said. “We were able to connect on several levels. It was easy to relate to her and talk about hard struggles.” They would watch each other’s children and their daughters became friends too.

“Bridge of Hope helped me gain the confidence to face hard situations, build connections within my community, and provided workshops within the program that greatly helped me build skills, like budgeting,” Alexis said.

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Building Bridges