Volunteer Opportunity!
Bridges To Life needs volunteers to help make a difference in the lives of both prison inmates and victims of crime. You can help! Find out more about how you can join the Bridges To Life volunteer team.
Recent News
Sandra Stephenson was the first recipient of the Patricia Stonestreet Victim Volunteer Award, given at the 2009 Bridges To Life Vision Luncheon on December 10, 2009.
News Articles
Numerous articles have been published about the unique work of Bridges To Life in both local and national publications.
Awards
John Sage was honored as the first recipient of the Bert Thompson Pioneer Award for Community and Restorative Justice at the National Conference on Restorative Justice in May 2009.
Jim Buffington and Brandon Willard received 2008 Governor’s Criminal Justice Volunteer Service Awards
John Sage received the HYLA Liberty Bell Award and was inducted into the St. Thomas Hall of Honor in 2008.
John and Frances Sage received the Samaritan Spirit Award on October 23.
What is Bridges To Life?
Rehabilitation, Reconciliation, and Community Safety. Bridges To Life (BTL) brings healing to victims of crime, reduces recidivism among offender graduates of the program, and helps make our community a safer place. See recidivism study.
Bridges To Life is a faith-based nonprofit 501©(3) corporation founded in November 1998, with a primary mission to reduce crime by reducing the recidivism rate of released inmates. By participating in face-to-face sessions inside the prison, both victims and offenders participate in a restorative justice process.
Based on the principals of Restorative Justice, the BTL program takes crime victims into the prison system with the intent of reducing crime in the community and reducing the recidivism of the offenders who complete the program. BTL accomplishes its goal of empowering victims and rehabilitating inmates by educating offenders about the impact that their actions have had, not only on their families, but also on the families of the victims, their friends, and the community at large.
The spiritual mission of Bridges To Life is to minister to victims of crime and to inmates to show them the transforming power of God’s love and forgiveness. The healing process for wounded spirits must include a spiritual dimension. Bridges To Life welcomes offenders and volunteers of all faiths and religions.
Bridges to Life Book
Restoring Peace – Using Lessons From Prison to Mend Broken Relationships details the principles used in the Bridges To Life program, combined with actual stories from victim and inmate participants. The book is intended for repairing or improving relationships with others.
Victim Comments
“The first thing that victims must do is learn to live again. This program helps them to accept that change and learn to live and trust again.”
Inmate Comments
“The best part about this program is the small group setting which allows both victim and inmate to be open and honest with one another and the trust, confidence that is built through these groups.”
Start Bridges To Life in Your Area
Bridges To Life has spent 10 years developing a unique and effective Restorative Justice victim impact program in Texas Prisons. We are now prepared to share the curriculum material for use in prisons outside of Texas.