The Bridge House

The Bridge: From Prison to Community ( Hamilton Ontario)

Mission Statement
“ To provide healing and support for all those affected by crime – victims, offenders, their families and the community.”

Mandate: The Bridge treats each person with respect and dignity. Individuals are accepted wherever they are on their journeys to wholeness.

Our Goal: To help prison inmates, former inmates, and their families to arrive at a more positive outlook on life and to enable them to become contributing members of society.

Our Approach: Staff and volunteers engage clients, both current residents of the house, and other former inmates in a variety of ways. The most important of these is through the creation of safe space where clients may live for a few weeks or a few months as they re-orient themselves to life outside of prison. Clients are also guided through the job search process and given help in finding future accommodation, a suitable 'place of their own' when they leave the House.

Our Space: The Bridge House can accommodate up to six residents at any one time. Living quarters include shared kitchen and bathroom facilities. In addition to these upstairs rooms, the main floor has a large meeting / dining room, a communal kitchen, a quiet reading room, as well as offices and computer / communications facilities available to residents, staff and volunteers.

Our Hope: We believe in helping people to reintegrate from prison into society. We are also committed to the belief that the assistance provided through our program is essential in keeping former prison inmates from reoffending and spending additional time in our already overcrowded jails. The more effective our efforts at The Bridge House, the safer and more vibrant our community will become.