Women have been sharing their stories of how they were helped after battling addiction by the Bridge Foundation, the non-profit organisation that helps people reintegrate back into society while in recovery.
Jillian Summers, outreach co-ordinator for the foundation, said that the support offered was “life-changing for many people who have just finished recovery and who have nowhere to go once they’ve come out of treatment”.
Sense of community
Speaking to Compass TV at the start of September’s Recovery Month, Summers said that the foundation provides safe housing as well as jobs through Beacon Farms and helps reconnect people with family members after relationships have been damaged.
“It provides a sense of normalcy and a community where they understand one another,” she said. “I think we need to really understand that addiction is a disease. People don’t wake up in the morning and choose to be addicts. There’s a lot of stigma that comes with addictions and a lot of judgment. It’s important that we recognise that we’re all human, and everyone can struggle with addictions in their lives.”
The Bridge Foundation is currently trying to raise funds to build Phoenix Bridge Women’s Recovery Centre, Cayman’s first purpose-built, residential halfway house for women in recovery from alcohol or drug addiction.
Summer said, “The Phoenix House, which will be a women’s halfway house for people to go after recovery … will provide safe housing for them.”
As well as providing a job at Beacon Farms, she said, “It will provide a sense of community and a sense of safety and they will slowly be able to go back into society and have a second chance at life.”
Between 2015 and 2016, the Bridge Foundation was able to accommodate women in a facility in West Bay but the lease ran out and the programme was forced to end. Rising out of the ashes is the Phoenix Bridge project, which will be built next to the Bridge Foundation’s halfway house for men dealing with addiction in West Bay and will contain four separate residences with two bedrooms each and a full kitchen.
Emma Powell, who now works as an administrative assistant at the Bridge Foundation, spoke about her journey away from addiction.
“When I came out into the community, there was very little support,” she said. “I basically white-knuckled it for five years and nine months, replacing my substance addition with exercise, which became another addiction.”
Powell said she was finally able to find support and a stable foundation for her recovery when she found the Bridge Foundation.
“I’m now coming up to 11 years in recovery and I was really able to do that because of the Bridge Foundation,” she said. “They helped me build a foundation that is necessary to stay clean and sober.”
Another woman who was caught in the cycle of addiction was Sacha Miller, who was facing a 10-year prison sentence when she was offered recovery through the Bridge Foundation.
“I was introduced to the Bridge Foundation in court and I wasn’t sure at the time if I really wanted to take this,” she said.
Having made the decision to see if the foundation could make a difference in her life, Miller said that it was then that she started healing.
“I just felt like I got myself back; it gave me time to think of the things that I destroyed during my addiction and things that I can try to mend back for me,” she said. “It wasn’t about proving to society what I can do; it was about helping me to recover from what I’d been through. Because of that home, my healing point began. And once the healing started, then I started to see the real me. … I started to love me again.”
Regarding the need for support services, the foundation’s Executive Director Bud Volinsky said, “There is a dangerous gap in our recovery system. … Women are completing treatment and have nowhere to go. Without safe housing, they risk returning to the same cycles that caused them pain and prison. The Phoenix House will provide more than a roof – it will offer dignity, safety and the tools to rebuild.”
Ways to help
- Donate: www.thebridgefoundationcayman.org
- Sponsor a room or programme: Contact Jillian Summers at [email protected] or 345-924-9156
- Partner: Offer job training, employment or essential goods/services
Related Videos
Such a powerful and inspiring interview — Sasha and Emma shared their journeys with honesty and courage, showing the life-changing impact of The Bridge Foundation. Jillian’s tireless support and advocacy for recovery shines through, and we’re so grateful to Tobi and the Compass team for giving this story the spotlight it deserves. The work doesn’t stop here — the Foundation urgently needs donors, volunteers, and skilled labour to help continue providing safe housing, jobs, and hope. Well done ladies, you’ve done yourselves, the Foundation, and the recovery community proud!
http://www.thebridgefoundationcayman.org