Recent News
Community Makes a Difference
“Hurting people find community at Bridge Street Mission, and the broader community of Wausau — including you — make it possible!.”
We are finding that the guests who come to our Outreach Center are usually looking for more than food. For many of them, this is the only positive “social interaction” they have that day…or perhaps, that week in many cases. We are convinced that our Sober Living Center residents would not be as successful in their recovery without the support of the other men around them. The Holy Spirit among them, working through our staff and volunteers, transforms lives for eternity.
Please read our 2022 annual report and Spring newsletter to learn more.
Preparing Men for Work
“At Bridge Street Mission, we offer several vocational tracks to help each man take ownership of his own recovery.”
When a resident in our Sober Living Center enters the transformational phase of our program, we offer him a scholarship for up to eight months. He will fully engage in our comprehensive curriculum and schedule, taking classes, receiving individual counseling and entering one of our vocational tracks. In our November newsletter, you will learn about how our vocational tracks are equipping men to return to work.
Please plan to join us on Tuesday, February 21, 2023 to celebrate the next set of men who will be graduationg and returning to work.
From Despair to Celebration!
“Addiction is giving up everything for one thing. Recovery is giving up one thing for everything.”
God is transforming and healing lives at Bridge Street Mission. Sometimes in happens quickly, like in Kevin’s story (link below). For others, it a a long hard road with many ups and downs. In either case, its is a miracle from God and a reason to celebrate. In our July newsletter, you will read about the miraculous change that has taken place in Kevin’s life, see our first 4 graduates as well as learn more about Celebrate Recovery, our addiction support group curriculum. Each day at Bridge Street Mission, we celebrate the progress men are making in recovery. Join us in this celebration, and thanks for your support of Bridge Street Mission.
Bridge Street Mission Announces First Graduating Class
On Friday June 10, 2022, 4 men graduated for the transformational phase of our Sober Living Program. These men completed a comprehensive life change curriculum which included individual counseling, classroom instruction and a vocational tract. Vocational tracts represented in this graduating class included culinary arts and facility management. While in the transformation phase of their programming each man received a scholarship provided through the B.A. & Esther Greenheck Foundation. Below is Channel 7’s coverage of the event…
https://www.wsaw.com/2022/06/11/four-men-mark-first-ever-graduating-class-sober-living-center/
Rising Up to Meet Growing Needs
Bridge Street Mission continues to grow in ministry impact in the Wausau area. In this annual report, you will see some of the impacts of our ministry as well as meet some of the people that God is using to offer Christ-centered help to the hundreds of hurting people we serve.
Living with Purpose
Dozens of volunteers, like Mark, live out their “purpose” at Bridge Street Mission. Read about Sober Living program enhancements and how you might get involved…
A New Life in a New Place
According to Gabriel, now sober after 25 years of addiction to crystal meth, “there is something powerful in Bridge Street Mission’s Sober Living Program if you are open to it” ….
Saved to Serve
Bridge Street Mission is more than a soup kitchen or a warming shelter. Through Celebrate Recovery and then opportunities to serve, Christina’s faith was rekindled….
Have Your Coffee and Help Others Too!
Have your coffee and help people in need at the same time! Mission Grounds Espresso is located at 1st Ave. and Bridge Street. Mission Grounds Espresso is a drive through espresso house that offers coffee, lattes, cappuccinos, bubble tea, smoothies and more! All proceeds go to support Bridge Street Mission.
https://www.wsaw.com/video/2021/04/18/local-coffee-shop-supports-wausau-community/
Get Out and Get New
Daily morning exercises, weekly gym nights and YMCA memberships are now being offered at Bridge Street Mission’s Sober Living Center.
Tuesday nights will now be basketball and exercise night at the Salvation Army gym. As part of an initiative to encourage physical fitness, our exercise program will consist of morning calisthenics led by one of our residents, these weekly trips to the Salavation Army gym, and a free month membership at the YMCA.
Why, in light of all their other needs, is this a priority? Our hope is that these healthy activities will replace negative habits. Whenever we remove something from our lives, like addiction or other bad habits, it is important to replace them with something good, so there is no room for those bad habits to come back. We put off the old and put on the new.
“in reference to your former way of life, you are to rid yourselves of the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
Ephesians 4:22-24
Exercise can be one of these new habits. In addition, there is ample evidence that physical activity is helpful to overcoming addiction. Lin and Aaron Sternlicht of Family Addiction Specialists in New York City explain the benefits of exercise to overcoming addiction in this way…
“Physical activity triggers a biological cascade of occurrences that results in many physical and mental health benefits. Research suggests that exercise is an effective treatment for mental health issues such as depression or anxiety, and can serve as a fundamental component to one’s recovery from addiction. Studies show that individuals who engage in a fitness routine live happier and healthier lives. Furthermore, experts in the field of addiction recovery and mental health believe that fitness is critical to living an addiction-free lifestyle and improving mental health.
Exercise can serve as a natural high, and not only make you feel good, but be good for you. Fitness allows individuals to experience a natural high without being on a mind or mood altering illicit substance. Most people are aware that exercise can produce “feel good” chemicals in the brain called endorphins. What some don’t know is that exercise, especially low-intensity exercise sustained over time, helps nerve cells grow and make new connections, subsequently improving brain functioning and helping individuals to feel better.”