Emerge partners with Bridges of Hope
New partnership will bring treatment and other services to homeless people in Xenia
XENIA — A new partnership between Emerge Recovery & Trade Initiative and the city’s homeless shelter is expected to serve the needs of hundreds of homeless people in the city over the next year, and countless more in the years to follow.
Steven Taylor, Director of Simon Kenton Bridges of Hope, 1087 W. 2nd St, Xenia, said the faith-based non-profit organization’s capacity to serve homeless people will increase dramatically because of the new partnership with Emerge.
“I’m excited about this,” he said. “For one, this gives the guests a personalized experience. Now we are getting caseworkers in here who have a heart to serve. They will be able to help people get on that road to healing much faster. When you have one case manager for 50 people — that’s not very manageable.”
Taylor said he’s been in the ministry for the past five years, and he took over as director at Bridges of Hope in December.
“Our mission is simple,” he said. “We are a faith-based, Christ-centered, non-profit organization dedicated to serving persons experiencing homelessness, poverty, and the consequences of addictive behaviors. We address the needs of such persons by providing access to life-building and life-sustaining services.”
Founded in 2018, the shelter previously offered housing, food, spiritual guidance and assistance placing people into programs, many of which will now be available on site.
“This place has been a sanctuary for people to come off the streets and find hope in Christ.”
The new partnership formed when Emerge cofounder Kip Morris began discussions with Will Urschel, board president of Bridges of Hope to help get people back into society much faster.
“After spending some time and prayer with Kip at Emerge last November, God was calling on both of us to take the next step and partner together so our guests could experience the abundant life Christ describes in John 10:10.” said Urschel. “Last year, Bridges was a drop in evening shelter that could only offer limited triage for the issues guests were facing. With the Emerge partnership, our guests will receive 24-hour housing, daily chapel services, biblical case and clinical management, peer support groups, and an opportunity to restore their relationship with their Creator and redeem the path of their lives. All praise goes to God for this, because only He could have brought this about in such a short time.”
Dustin Fields, Licensed Social Worker from Emerge, will oversee programming for this collaborative project which started on January 2, 2024..
Fields has worked for various mental health and behavioral health agencies for the past 12 years. He came to Emerge in February of 2023.
He said he decided to go into this field because he had lived experience as an addict.
“I do the work I do because I know pain — I know hopelessness, confusion and uncertainty,” Fields said. “Jesus Christ changed my life and my heart in 2018. I’ve been sober since 2016 and I believe God wants to use my life to glorify him and bring people into the kingdom.”
“Very few of the homeless population are getting services for mental health and substance use,” he said. “Because very few are engaged in services, it leaves people sitting around. Some of them work, but other than that they are not advancing their life or getting out of their situation — there’s no victory or relief.”
Fields said Bridges of Hope is a Christ-centered mission, similar to the mission at Emerge.
“Both organizations believe the pathway of success involves a strong journey of faith and a commitment to spirituality as part of a healthy life and successful life,” he said. “The program here will be called Emerge into Hope — a faith-based and evidence-based curriculum that will incorporate spirituality and proven evidence modalities to help people struggling with mental health issues and/or substance use issues.”
Organizers expect the program will likely serve 80 or more people within the first couple of months – people who are currently homeless in Xenia and unable to change their circumstances due to a lack of these types of services.
“By mid 2024, that number would probably be somewhere between 200 and 250 people that can then establish sobriety, a viable career path, engagement with resources, improved social networking and social skills,” Fields said. “The important thing to understand about this program being faith based is that we are going to look at a biblical view of addiction and the human condition as a whole — as well as recovery and growth and healthy living along with evidence-based clinical interventions to support that for a client’s journey into a better life.”
Fields said if clients decide they aren’t interested in the faith-based paradigm, they can be seen at the main campus at Emerge.
When asked about the partnership between Emerge Recovery & Trade Initiative and Bridges of Hope in Xenia, Emerge’s new CEO, Rachel Huffman, said she is excited as well.
“We are excited to start this journey with Bridges of Hope and serve the residents at Bridges of Hope,” Huffman said. “The residents of BOH will be able to engage in outpatient clinical services on site such as substance abuse and mental health outpatient counseling, intensive outpatient, peer recovery support services, and more depending on the needs. People at Bridges of Hope will also have access to recovery housing, partial hospitalization services, and the Trades Institute, which is on site at the Emerge Center located at 2960 W. Enon Road in Xenia.”
Currently, the Trades Institute offers certified courses in HVAC, plumbing, and business technology to anyone in the community.
“Additionally, we will work with BOH residents to set goals to work toward long-term stability and independence beyond their stay at the shelter. We are excited to see how this helps the residents and community. At Emerge, we believe in not only supporting people with their clinical needs but walking alongside them through different life transitions.
For more information, to donate or get involved contact Elaine Bonner, Director of Philanthropy at Emerge at 937.974.6120 or visit https://www.emergerecoverytrade.com/
.