2022 | August

CHANGING DIRECTION

Greetings! At Bridges To Life, we love it when we unexpectedly cross paths with our graduates after they've returned to the free world. Finding out how the healing and growth they experienced in the BTL program has helped them succeed is one of our greatest rewards. ...At a Restorative Justice conference in Chicago, BTL Outreach Manager Joel Lightfoot ended up sitting with someone who knew of Bridges To Life from a friend who had been incarcerated. When Joel called the graduate, who has been out for several years, he said, "Joel, I take my BTL books off the bookshelf and review them several times a year, just to keep my head screwed back on straight. These books have become a compass for my life."  ...Regional Coordinator James Prochazka was having lunch with two BTL volunteers and happened to be wearing his BTL lanyard. Their waitress excitedly told them that she had taken the program while incarcerated and was released last December. She said she now has her life together and assured James she will not be going back. ...I was in a small restaurant in the Texas Panhandle when a man recognized me and introduced himself as a BTL graduate. He said the program was the catalyst for his decision to move back with his estranged wife after release from prison, and that BTL also helped him stay sober. In less than one year, he had more work than he could handle, bought a truck, and had money in the bank. More importantly, he reconciled with his wife and was reunited with his children. He told me that his life was going in a positive direction and he would not go back to prison. We are so encouraged when our graduates apply what they learned in our program to turn their lives around after incarceration. There couldn't be a more powerful testimony of BTL's impact than moving on to a better life. With gratitude, John Sage, Founder & CEO Jim Buffington, COO 

GAINING FREEDOM

"Bridges To Life is a bridge to life after surviving through hell and living through strife. As hands reach out to help me cross, I reach out to grab hold and forget what I've lost. A group of faces that I'll never forget, I realize now I'm not alone in my shame and regret. Each story is different but yet all the same, we're all connected through crime and through pain. We experience Grace where there was once rejection. We've found a light that gives us direction. We take hold of the Peace that comes with Forgiveness. We see each other heal, with God as our witness. We accept responsibility for the things we have done. We let go of our hurts, now our healing's begun. A bridge that leads to life, I crossed, now I'm free. Now I'll extend my hand like those who've helped me." --Poem by a 2022 BTL Graduate, Halbert Unit

2022 BTL Graduates & Volunteers, Halbert Unit, Burnet, Texas

EASY GIVING

Everyday purchases you make when shopping at AmazonSmile can generate donations to BTL, at no cost to you! Here's how: 1) Go to smile.amazon.com 2) Sign in using your regular amazon account 3) Pick Bridges To Life as your charity 4) Shop and check out! AmazonSmile will donate to BTL every time you make an eligible purchase (eligibility is indicated in the product description). As a BTL donor recently commented, "It is simple and free to sign up for AmazonSmile - it doesn’t cost a cent but sure does help BTL, and Amazon does all the work!" 

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