Bridges to Life Restorative Justice Program
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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
Bridges To Life was featured on Houston’s KTRK Channel 13. The video segment is titled, “Program developed by local man makes statewide impact.” View this video.
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.
Restoring Peace Book
ISBN 1-4120-3936-3
Price $10 | Buy Now
CONFESSION
Excerpt from Chapter 6, Restoring Peace
Unlike most books about confession, Restoring Peace answers questions such as, “Who do I confess to?”
“When we insist we are right, we get awfully lonely. But when we admit we make mistakes and are flawed, we have lots of company. Admitting we are wrong confirms our honesty, our morality, and our strength, and allows us to reclaim our dignity. Confession helps us join the human race.”
“We can confess in any of four situations. Some people – often the case with Bridges To Life offenders – confess to law enforcement officials because they have violated a law and are accountable to the state and society. We confess to ourselves when we are intellectually honest about our faults and shortcomings. We confess to God when we acknowledge our sins and begin to restore relations with Him. We confess to another person as a way of telling her that we are strong enough to be accountable for our actions but also are a vulnerable human being who is willing to take the risks of laying out our shortcomings.”
“When we confess our mistakes to the state and fellow human beings, we begin to be a force for peace and reconciliation. When we acknowledge our shortcomings to ourselves, God, and man, we begin to be fully human and at peace with ourselves.”
“The Bridges To Life experience respects the importance of all four contexts for confession. Restoring Peace will take the same approach, and each is discussed in the sections that follow.”
Read more about Restoring Peace, Bridges to Life’s new book.
Excerpts from the book include:
- Seeing confession as the first step toward restitution.
- A discussion of the importance of repentance.
- A discussion of the importance of forgiveness.
- Seeing how reconciliation precedes restitution.
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.”