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Bridges to Life Staff

Connie Hilton — Northeast Texas Regional Coordinator — Email

Connie Hilton was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and later moving to Garland, Texas, she graduated from South Garland High School and attended Eastfield College, while raising a family. She made a career in the financial field.

Connie was blessed with two wonderful children who are now making their careers in the Dallas area. At a time when her daughter was in the United States Air Force, and her son was preparing to graduate from Mesquite High School, she decided that it was time to move to the country and enjoy life to the fullest.

George and Connie moved to an area that they considered as, “God’s Country”. After his very busy life in real estate and building, and her busy life in travel and finance, they really began to enjoy life to the fullest and the many blessings it brought.

Feeling as though they had the perfect life, it was all shattered in the blink of an eye. In the early morning hours of September 1990, three armed men broke into their home. Within one hour, George lay dead in the hallway, Connie was beaten, raped, and left for dead in the kitchen, and their faithful Labrador Retriever was left dead in the front yard. At a time when all seemed lost, and at times having suicidal feelings, she kept turning to God, family, and friends. They have helped to make her the new person that she is today.

Along the road of healing, Connie and her sister founded Voices for Victim’s Justice, an organization to help other victims, such as themselves, cope with the horrendous pain and suffering of being a victim of crime.

In 1999, she was introduced to John Sage, by being a participant on a victim impact panel. After hearing about the program, she decided that Bridges To Life is what she had been looking for. A program that connected crime victims, communities, and the incarcerated in such a way as to help reduce the recidivism rate in Texas. Feeling that no one should have to go through the pain and anguish of being a victim of crime, she has devoted her full time and attention to the program.

READ THE GUIDEPOSTS ARTICLE ABOUT CONNIE HILTON

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.

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.”