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If you would like to become part of this Ministry, please contact Mary Haddad (909) 437-3221.
If you have items you would like to donate to the ministry please contact Sharon Eazell at (909) 982-4885. -
Seeing the need for effective solutions to the issue of homelessness, a committee of dedicated citizens in Upland took action and formed Bridges to Home in October 2013. The goal of the program is to assure formerly homeless individuals and families are provided furniture and other basic household items to fully furnish their newly found but empty residence in the hope that their lives and those of their children will experience stabilization and a reasonable measure of productivity and self-esteem will be instilled as they take steps away from the destitute life of homelessness.
St. Anthony Bridges to Home has been in operation since then, joyfully serving those in need and hoping to make a difference one life at a time. Program coordinators partner with service providers in the community such as the Veterans’ Administration, Inland Valley Hope Partners, Inland Valley Recovery Services, House of Ruth, and Inland Socal United Way who help locate affordable living accommodations, facilitate work opportunities, and provide counseling for clients so that the capacity and resources to remain in their home permanently is likely. After being vetted by a service provider, individuals and/or families complete the forms pertinent to applying for assistance from St. Anthony Bridges to Home as the next step in their transition from homelessness. A comprehensive list of the items they need is obtained, which is reviewed by the move coordinator. The items needed are then gathered either from our inventory or purchased using funds donated by faithful supporters of the ministry. A move-in date is scheduled, a volunteer move-in team is formed, and the items are delivered and set up in the home by the team and the individuals.
To date, 355 successful moves have been accomplished amounting to hundreds of adults and children who can now envision their new lives with gratitude that someone cared enough to help. Those served include veterans, single Moms and Dads, senior men and women, families devastated by major life issues, and those coping with significant hardships of life. Both those serving and those being served are blessed in working together.
Volunteers who offer their time and labor so that mission of the program can be accomplished have grown over the years because this is a permanent way to end homelessness. Our vision statement challenges us to live our lives as a community of believers who impact family, neighborhood, and society with the Gospel so that lives are filled with hope. St. Anthony Bridges to Home Ministry has drastically impacted the lives of individuals served within families, neighborhoods, and society at large. This ministry has personally and emotionally engaged with the previously homeless and destitute in the broader community to bring hope and love, and to renew their faith in God and in the belief that He is alive and working in mighty ways in their lives.
We are called to alleviate the needs of our struggling world family by ministering to the least of our brothers and sisters. (Matthew 25:40) Not only do they depend on us to reach out in the midst of their struggle, but we depend on them for opportunities to serve as the hands and feet of Jesus on earth.
Needed items include:
Strong arms and backs and light lifters as well
Drivers who can drive a Suburban pulling a 10-foot trailer
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- Monetary donations
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- Furniture & household items donations
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- A willing spirit and a compassionate heart!
“But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:17-18
If you have questions or would like to become part of this Ministry please contact Mary Haddad (909) 437-3221. If you have items you would like to donate to the ministry please contact Sharon Eazell at 909-982-4885.
Together we are better! -