Samantha and Matthew have three children (Alex, Tanner, & Asher). They have interacted with Bridges of Hope on a few different occasions over the past 7 years. I recently sat down with Samantha to chat with her about her experiences and the difference that Bridges of Hope has made in her life. Q: What was life like “before Bridges?” A: Well, Matthew works full time and is a student full-time, so sometimes I feel like a single mom. He helps when he can, and we are lucky to liv

Defeated…worn out…confused. These are some of the words that Cindy used to describe herself and her situation when I first met her. Cindy is a young mom with three small children: Luke, Isabelle, and Nicholas. When she first started working with me, she and her children were homeless and living in a shelter. Cindy was a victim of domestic abuse and made the choice to leave her relationship to make a better life for her and her children, but it wasn’t easy, and she faced many

It’s that dreaded feeling you get…when you realize you have just been in a car accident. What happened before the accident is usually a blur, but what happens after an accident can leave you feeling just as foggy. At Bridges of Hope we try to help lift some of the fog for the clients that reach out us. Some have experienced a figurative “car accident” that has left them spinning emotionally, and others have experienced a literal car accident that has caused injury in other wa

Where were you one year ago? I remember clearly that I was in our little office in First Lutheran Church, looking around at stacks of boxes and wondering how we ever fit so many people, file cabinets & desks into one small space! As we were in the midst of planning for our moving day As a staff, we knew that Bridges of Hope could help these households with sorting out what to do next, but we really had no idea how to reach out to them, as in literally how to get a hold of the

In this job we celebrate a lot of successes–both small and large–with the families we work with. However, the reality in life (for our clients and ourselves) is that sometimes, with each step forward, we are forced to take one or two steps back. Erin is 18 and has a son, Derek, who is 11 months old. When I first met Erin, she was going to high school, was on track to graduate, and was planning on starting college in the spring (one step forward), but there was no room for her

Maggie is a 34-year-old single mother with a 9-year-old daughter named Yasmin. Maggie had been referred to one of Bridges of Hope’s Family Support Services programs, and I first met her at a local domestic violence shelter. Maggie wanted support during her transition from an abusive relationship to an independent, safe life for her and Yasmin. Over three months of working together, Maggie and I met each week, and together we set several goals. The first was to find permanent

There are many families right now facing very difficult times. So many, in fact, that to be frank, I realize many of you have probably grown a little tired of hearing about the tough stuff going on in the lives of men, women and children in our community. I understand. It can wear on us, too. But it got me thinking… What does it really mean to live in poverty in the Brainerd Lakes Area? Well, technically speaking, for a family of four, you are considered “living in poverty” i

That’s when Rochelle called Bridges of Hope, explaining to the staff that she knew she needed to get her mental health under control before she could even begin to rebuild her life. Bridges of Hope was able to find a counselor who specialized in parenting and stress management as well as with survivors of domestic violence. Rochelle was set up with an immediate counseling appointment, and the Bridges staff simultaneously set up Crisis Nursery childcare for the children, so Ro

Jonathon, Sam and Emily along with their parents Charlotte and Rob were homeless—or practically homeless. This family of five had just moved to our area and were living in a burned-out trailer with no heat. It was winter. Charlotte and Rob and their three beautiful children had taken to huddling together on the living room floor in order to stay warm at night. That’s when they found Bridges of Hope. It occurred to me today, that all too often, we beg The story continues...A F