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.
Bridges to Life Reunion — Hughes Unit
On Saturday, May 16, all of the BTL graduates who are still on the Unit came to the Reunion and we had a great time. It was so good to see the offenders again and to catch up on what was going on. Some have gotten parole and it was good the hear they are going home. We had lots of good food (all sweets), and good music from the Prison Choir.
We have had 5 graduating classes at Hughes and they were all invited to be there. There was well over a hundred men in attendance. We had BTL graduate Gordon Fisher ( Kyle Unit/2005) as our guest speaker and he really touched a lot of hearts telling his story of being incarcerated and how his life is now. We had 24 volunteers there from the Waco region. Some have participated at Hughes and some are BTL volunteers in other area prisons. All were very inspired to see the men and to see the hope they have for a better life. Lucy Murray, BTL regional coordinator, was given a standing ovation for all her hard work in starting and managing the Waco region for BTL. John Sage, BTL Founder, was also present and spoke briefly to the men, encouraging them to continue practicing the concepts they learned in BTL . The reunion was something we hope can be done every year at Hughes and it will just continue to grow.
The Pictures below were taken at the reunion.
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.”