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2004-05-04 issue:

One church, one family at a time

Bridge of Hope helps churches learn to mentor homeless women and children.

by Leslie Homer-Cattell

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Michele Beamer will be lovingly catered to this Mother’s Day. There may be a potted marigold or two from her sons’ Sunday school classes at Hinkletown Mennonite Church in Ephrata, Pa. Her husband will probably cook dinner at their twin home with the big maple tree in the front yard. Her youngest son—just 5 months old—will likely be content nursing as usual.

But 10 years ago, life was different. Beamer was 23 and living in a transitional housing program for young single mothers. She was yearning to be on her own and make a stable home for herself and her toddler.

“Derek was 6 months old when we moved into the shelter,” says Michele. “While I was there, I earned a degree in medical office procedures and got a job at a hospital. My time at the shelter was ending and I was ready to move on with my life. But I was afraid.

“It was getting colder and I didn’t have a car. I was walking a couple miles—with my child—to the babysitter and then to work. How could I get around to look for an apartment? What if I messed up and made the wrong decision about where to live? During my counseling session at the shelter, I saw a flier about Bridge of Hope and decided to give them a call.”

Beamer applied and was accepted into Bridge of Hope, a program that uses a three-way partnership model between one homeless or at-risk single mother, one trained church-based mentoring group and professional staff. She met weekly with a case manager to talk about budgeting and parenting issues and set short- and long-term goals.

And she was introduced to 12 strangers from Hinkletown Mennonite.

“When I first met some of my mentors at Friendly’s; they were so nice to Derek and me,” says Michele. “I told them I was worried about moving to a different place. How would I get to work and pick up my son? But they had it all figured out—they had found someone to donate a car to me and said they would take me to work for the next two weeks until it was ready. I felt such relief when I heard that. I sat and cried.”

Her only possessions were clothing, a crib, a bed and a dresser. So her mentors collected furniture and household goods and went to auctions to find a washer and dryer. On moving day they cleaned the apartment, helped carry everything in and provided babysitting for Derek.

“They had it all lined up,” says Michele. “It reminds me of how God knows exactly all our worries and concerns and provides for them.”

Michele settled into her new home, but as life became more stable she became more guarded with her mentors. They act like they love me, but they really don’t, she thought. She even started avoiding their phone calls.

“I was grateful, but it was overwhelming,” she says. “I couldn’t believe that these people who had families and lives would take their time for me. I thought they were going to love me and leave me like my biological father did.

“But they just didn’t give up on me!” Michele says. “They told me, ‘We care about you and we’re not going anywhere.’ They continued to show that love in so many different ways—they included us in holiday parties and vacations. And they let me know that they had problems, too—financial issues, children who are naughty sometimes. They showed me that their lives were no different from mine. I thought, OK, this is real.”

Barb Martin—one of Michele’s mentors then and a close friend now—remembers her own learning curve. “As Michele and I got to know each other better, I felt that we developed a close relationship,” she says. “I was able to listen when she needed to talk. But even though she asked our advice and opinions, she didn’t necessarily always follow it. I learned that God needs to guide and direct each of us and that we can’t make decisions for others even when we think that would be best.”

Breaking the cycle of poverty and homelessness: Michele’s relationship with Barb and her other mentors is just what Linda Witmer and Sandy Lewis had in mind. This public health nurse and women’s shelter director faced the limitations of social service programs daily as they saw families stuck in a cycle of poverty and homelessness. They dreamed of connecting homeless single mothers with the church and helping them find long-term solutions to the problems they faced.

With the support of their church, Sandy Hill Mennonite in Coatesville, Pa., Sandy and Linda shared their dream at a meeting on March 2, 1987. Thirty-seven people from a cross-section of Christian faiths were there to hear three homeless mothers share their stories. They wanted to explore ways the church community in Lancaster and Chester counties (Pennsylvania) might make a difference in the lives of families like these.

“There was a strong sense of hope and optimism at that meeting,” says Andy Leatherman, Sandy Hill’s pastor at the time. “What gripped people was the idea that churches could be involved in meeting these needs. Many of us had the story of the sheep and the goats on our mind. That was the theological underpinning—Jesus’ words to help the poor and love others. This was not about ‘rescuing’ people, it was more about simply loving them.”

Bridge of Hope was incorporated in October 1987. Larry Zook, a member of East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church in Lancaster, Pa., now and a student in the MBA program at Eastern College at the time, served an internship as the start-up facilitator in 1988. The first mother and her child were matched with a mentoring group in1989.

Bridge of Hope’s first board of directors included members representing Brethren, Catholic, Episcopal, Mennonite and Presbyterian churches.

“We realized that we needed a wider base than just our own denomination,” says Andy. “We offered truck loads of prayers and saw the Spirit of God leading people with commitment to this right from the start.”

Word spreads: After just three years, people from outside Lancaster and Chester counties began inquiring about Bridge of Hope’s ministry model. The first calls were from Pittsburgh, Pa., and Marlton, N.J. Would Bridge of Hope help connect churches with homeless single mothers in those communities?

The phone kept ringing. Bridge of Hope’s board formed an affiliate committee. By the time the national office was launched in 2002, Bridge of Hope had received inquiries from people in more than 25 states.

“Bridge of Hope is a new approach to a problem as old as civilization,” says Edgar Stoesz, a member of Akron (Pa.) Mennonite Church, who completed his term as the first chair of Bridge of Hope National Office in March. “This is a paradigm that has been proven to be of value not only for the women but for the churches, too. When someone says, ‘I feel so bad, but I don’t know what to do,’ Bridge of Hope gives them handles to help them know how to respond.”

The mission of Bridge of Hope National Office is to call and equip Christians to create local affiliates that engage churches in a life-changing mentoring ministry with homeless women and children. A complete mentor-training program, as well as operational manuals and on-site training for affiliate boards and staff, help new Bridge of Hope ministries get a solid start. Affiliates are encouraged to put down strong Christian roots and draw on the best practices in nonprofit management.

Currently there are five Bridge of Hope affiliates located in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Other groups in Johnstown (Pa.), St. Louis, Lukfin (Texas), and Atlanta are actively discerning whether God is calling them to launch a Bridge of Hope in their communities.

“The impact mentors can have on the lives of one mom and her children is tremendous,” says Edith Yoder, executive director of Bridge of Hope National Office and a member of Frazer (Pa.) Mennonite Church. “Before Michele and her son met her mentoring group, their lives could have gone in a different direction. [Due to] the love of supportive friends, Michele brought Derek up in the church. People in his life love and care for him. He can count on his mom to provide a home for him.”

‘Those people’ turned into ‘my neighbor’: The desire to impact the lives of homeless and at-risk families was at the heart of the informational meeting for what would become Bridge of Hope BuxMont. Founded in 2000, it now serves families in Bucks and Montgomery (Pa.) counties.

“A number of us had become more aware of homelessness in our back yard. It wasn’t just ‘those people’ who were homeless; we were beginning to say ‘my neighbor’ and we wanted to become more connected,” says Walter Sawatsky, the director of Collaborative Ministries and a conference minister in Franconia Conference. “It became clear we had enough energy and passion among us to start organizing. To us it was a God thing.”

Walter, who served on the group’s steering committee and the first board of directors, remembers a variety of gifts among the founding group. Some were skilled with finances, others in relational ministries; some were big picture people, others strong administrative leaders.

“We were blessed with the right combination of gifts almost from the beginning,” he says. “We never even thought about how much work there was—it had to be done.”

Bridge of Hope BuxMont hired Executive Director Cheryl Swartley in 2001 and began accepting families into the program within a few months. Among the first nine churches to mentor a family so far are Souderton Mennonite, Line Lexington Mennonite, Zion Mennonite and Plains Mennonite. Over a dozen other Mennonite churches have supported the program financially, and six of BuxMont’s 14 board members are Mennonite.

But addressing poverty crosses denominational lines, according to Cheryl, a member of Blooming Glen Mennonite. She reports that other board members represent Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ and independent churches.

“Caring for those struggling with poverty is a clear mandate that Jesus lived and taught,” Cheryl says. “Bridge of Hope is such a tangible way of living out Christian faith. It’s the real thing.”

Since the founding of Bridge of Hope Lancaster and Chester Counties, this three-way partnership model has been tested and refined. More than 175 homeless and at-risk mothers and almost 300 children have been matched with trained, church-based mentoring groups through Bridge of Hope affiliates. And other families are on a journey from homelessness to wholeness right now.

‘I’m a success story’: Michele describes herself as a success story. After graduating from Bridge of Hope, she went on to buy the house where she now lives. She became a member of Hinkletown Mennonite in 1994 and in 1998 married Austin Beamer. Now Derek has three young brothers. He goes to Lititz (Pa.) Mennonite School and enjoys playing basketball. He is being raised in a strong Christian community.

“During my time in Bridge of Hope I grew a lot spiritually. I learned without a shadow of a doubt that the piece missing in my life was Jesus Christ,” says Michele. “At first I felt a little uncomfortable as a single mother going into a Mennonite church. I wondered, What will they think of me? But I was welcomed with open arms.”

It’s a story Yoder has seen over and over again as Bridge of Hope matches homeless single mothers with Protestant and Catholic churches.

“There is a broadness in what God is doing that is very powerful and unifying,” Edith says. “When the current mentoring groups and mothers gather for a meal and training on Bridge of Hope nights, I often marvel at the racial, denominational and theological diversity I see. This is what the kingdom of God looks like.”

Leslie Homer-Cattell lives in Honey Brook, Pa.

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