Services and Programs - Changing Lives

Raised in a tumultuous home filled with drug addiction and domestic violence, Sidonia started drinking at age 15 to numb her pain. She quit school and was in and out of violent relationships. At 20 she had the first of her three children, all of whom were taken away from her by the state when Sidonia's drug addiction got so bad that she could no longer care for them.

Sidonia's life story seemed to go from bad to worse. As her dependence on drugs grew, she got more desperate to stay high. After she committed robbery for drug money, she was arrested and jailed. Upon her release, she ended up homeless, sleeping in basements, hallways and in abandoned buildings.

A drug rehab counselor told her about Bridgeport Rescue Mission's Women's Shelter. "I was relieved the very minute I walked through those doors," Sidonia remembers. "I was welcomed there. I was loved. It was awesome."

Sidonia joined our year-long New Life Discipleship Program, gave her life to Christ and started the hard work of overcoming her addiction, mending relationships with her family and making plans for her future.

As I write, Sidonia has been sober for 20 months, has her own home and recently finished her first semester at Housatonic Community College where she's studying Human Services. Although she's doing wonderfully, Sidonia knows to stay clean she must walk closely with God and keep her eyes focused on His plans for her life. She still attends chapel services at Bridgeport Rescue Mission and participates in our Higher Ground AA group. We are committed to walking beside Sidonia every step of the way so she will continue to be successful in her new life.

I think of Sidonia, and the hundreds of other men and women God has transformed here, as walking miracles. When they arrived at the Mission, their lives were in shambles. They had battled drug and alcohol abuse, depression or other life-altering traumas. Now, they're living independently, perhaps for the first time in their lives. Pursuing their dreams by going back to school, holding down good jobs, giving back to the community.

On behalf of Sidonia and the other walking miracles who receive an opportunity for a second chance in life because of friends like you -- thank you. They may never be able to express to you personally what your love and compassion mean to them. But rest assured, they would want me to give you this very important message: Without your support and prayers, there would be no Bridgeport Rescue Mission to help fight poverty from the inside out.

God Bless,
Rev. Terry Wilcox
Executive Director



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