For two decades, The Bridge, based in Forest Park, has been helping and advocating for those coming out of gangs, addiction and incarceration.
Serving as a launching pad for those in need, The Bridge, through weekly meetings, connects people with resources for housing, transportation, jobs and a sense of community as they get back on their feet.
The boots-on-the-ground approach has been the focus of the program since it began, meeting people where they are and connecting with them as they work towards a new life, said Glen Fitzjerrell, the president and founder of Mission: USA. He started The Bridge after years of prison and gang outreach.
“We created the bridge to kind of be like a bus depot or like an airport, or something where you come in and then all the connections are there,” Fitzjerrell said.
He added: “You have people that we have picked up from the residential drug rehabs and people that we’ve met behind bars that come to the service and they’re kind of not sure that anybody would want to have anything to do with them. Suddenly there’s this slow parade of pastors going past them, and all of them are personally inviting them to the church and saying that they’d have them.”
Originally from Texas, Fitzjerrell moved to Chicago to work with juveniles involved in gang activity as they returned to their communities and adjusted. He noted that people in this position had limited resources and started The Bridge to help.
Every Tuesday, 45 to 60 people gather for a typical service. Most attendees receive transportation in one of the program’s vans for an evening dedicated to helping them. There is original music, connections, fellowship and a meal.
The program has volunteers that attend the meetings and help serve meals or do ministry with attendees.
Amanda Tollberg has volunteered with The Bridge since 2015 and said she has seen first-hand how encouragement and fellowship helps move lives forward.
“I think people who walk through those doors, it feels different for them,” Tollberg said. “They’re like, ‘Wow, this is a place where I can just be myself and not be judged for my past, and I can just feel free to be myself.’ They can just be seen for who they are and all the hard work that they’re doing despite any challenges.”
At the services, pastors from local churches give brief remarks on topics requested by participants. Fitzjerrell said that the organization partners with churches and pastors all around the Chicago area so that attendees can find community and resources that are convenient to their living situation.
There are about 15 pastors that work with The Bridge, many of whom were found by scouring local churches for warm and friendly attitudes.
“We would kind of dress down and visit churches as if we were just searching for a church of our own, and kind of see, ‘Was there a warm greeting or was it a comfortable experience?’” Fitzjerrell said. “We ended up visiting hundreds of churches and about one in every 10 churches would make the cut. We’re really selecting the best of the best of the best for these individuals.”
Fitzjerrell hopes to expand his ministry capabilities and work with other populations in need of support. He recently helped former attendees of The Bridge start an outreach program for homeless people, a type of project he hopes to do more of in the future.
“For my guys that have come up through The Bridge to kind of take the experience of The Bridge and rebuild relationships … and to see them go to an entirely different environment, take those same skills and add to it their giftedness, their warmth, and so forth and build those relationships,” Fitzjerrell said. “I’ve seen the future, and that’s what it is.”