Chuck Simpson
Founder
Charles Simpson is the Founder and Director of Bridges to Change Inc.(BTC) in Gresham. Mr. Simpson has a degree in Addiction Counseling, and is a Certified Addiction Counselor, and has been working with corrections clients, and the in the addictions field for thirteen years. Mr. Simpson worked for seven years for Volunteers of America's Inpatient Transition Program for male adjudicated clients in Portland, then went to work for Pathfinders of Oregon as their Transitional Services Director before starting his own non-profit.
Bridges to Change's focus is on re-entry into the community from prison, jail, and homelessness, for men and women on supervision. BTC provides transitional housing, mentoring, anger management and relapse prevention classes, provides reach-ins in all the release institutions to identify the obstacles to success for the inmates. BTC has seventeen full time paid mentors, to work with clients, and over 125 drug- and alcohol-free transition housing beds in four counties. We work closely with Community Corrections to coordinate services and give the clients the best chance of being successful. The program is highly structured, clients are held accountable, and are treated with dignity and respect.
Mr Simpson states that, “I have been incarcerated myself and had addiction issues. I know the obstacles to being successful upon release. Re-entry is a process, we want to help clients walk through that process and become productive members of the community”
Joann Simpson
Founder
I have a degree in education, and am a former teacher. Relevant experience; I worked for Pathfinders of Oregon as their resource coordinator, and ran an inmate hotline for nine years prior to starting Bridges to Change.
I have been on the Board of the Portland Saturday Market for some years and understand how a board functions. I am a cofounder of BTC, and know all aspects of the program, and it makes me uniquely capable of being the director, I have excellent relationships with the staff, and our Community Partners.
I believe in transparency, and integrity in everything I do, and the company does.
Doug
Program Manager - Clackamas County
My name is Doug Vanzant. My clean date is 6/7/01. I have been working for Bridges to Change since 7/1/07 as program manager for Clackamas County. Before that I was a mentor for LifeWorks Northwest in Washington County for 4 years.
My passion and mission in life is to help the just-released inmate have a chance at a new life by using my experience, strength, and hope to help make positive change.
I spent 24 years in my addiction, jails, treatment facilities, and prison and was released for good on 6/28/02 and was given a chance to have a new life.
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Terri
Mentor - Clackamas County
My name is Terri Collins and I am the female mentor for the Bridges to Change program in Clackamas County. I have been in recovery from drug addiction for over a decade. My life before I was introduced to recovery was a day-to-day struggle that ended with multiple trips to prison and homelessness.
Bridges to Change is my second position as a mentor and I have completed Motivational Interviewing, Ethics & Boundaries, and other courses to help me to be more effective in working with women.
I first heard of the Bridges program through a friend who is a mentor here, I was very interested in participating and possibly helping make a difference in women's lives who want to make positive changes. I believe that we, as mentors, are in a unique position to share our experiences and show our clients that there is a better way to live and to be successful.
Jim
Mentor - Mental Health Program
In May of 1995 after years of active addiction I entered an intensive treatment program and have been clean ever since. I began working in that treatment center as a residential counselor in 1997. While there I taught living skills and communication skills classes along with doing initial intakes.
I have been working as a recovery mentor for Bridges to Change since May of 2008. When I first came to Bridges I was working in the Oregon City office. Currently I am located at the Haven House in Clackamas County. This is clean and sober living for men who are recovering from addiction and mental illness. I am there to help with re-entry services such as job search, connecting with mental health services, help with navigating the process of applying for SSI and SSD, to introduce 12-step recovery and offer recovery support. To support this position I have taken trainings in Crisis Intervention and Motivational Interviewing.
I do this kind of work because without the help of other recovering addicts, staying clean would have never been possible. I have a chance to pass on to others what has been given to me and help make it possible for others to recover in safe surroundings.
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Joey
Mentor - Clackamas County
My name is Joey Johns. My clean date is 1-29-07. The reason I became a mentor is to help individuals who are recovering from substance abuse and destructive lifestyles put their lives back together. I believe that I can effectively mentor and guide people in the right direction because I have been where they have been and I am very passionate about this program.
I am a graduate of The Bridges to Change program in Clackamas County. After my release from prison the mentors from Bridges to Change helped me overcome the barriers I put in place over many years of drug addiction and criminal behavior. So I am proof that this program can help you succeed.
Crystal
CRM - Washington County Probation and Prison Release
I have been a part of the Bridges to Change family for close to five years. I have had many, many trainings, such as Trans-Theoretical Therapy (signs of change), working with resistance in group therapy, and collaborative problem solving. These are just a few of the trainings I have had the opportunity to take part in.
I have been in recovery for 8 yrs. I started drinking and using drugs when I was 13. I have been in and out of jail, homeless, strung out, lost and hopeless. I stared prostituting at age 18. I lived to die. I survived by selling my body.
I came into recovery 8 months pregnant, broken, and scared with no sense of direction. It's through the brokeness of my past that I am able to connect and help these women today. It is a honor to be part of such an inspiring program. Today I get to take women to meetings, help them find safe housing, find employment, guide them in the direction to become self sufficent. Show them its OK to love who they are today. It's a blessing to be an example of hope, to walk side by side, and watch as these women blossom in recovery!!
Jesse
Housing Coordinator
My job encompasses several areas which are all rewarding for me.
I aid in opening our new houses, deliver supplies, and work with our mentors as needed. Also, I manage one of our houses. There are various other duties as well. I even get to go into the prisons and work with the men in there to develop their plans for release.
The reason I feel so blessed is that I spent most of my life in prison and Bridges to Change provided the start I needed to make a successful reentry to the real world. My childhood was one of crime and drug abuse and when I got to prison I realized that I had become someone I did not want to be. Many years of work to change myself paid off. I took every program I could that might help me understand how to become a better man. I completed courses in anger management, mental health, drug and alcohol treatment, cognitive thinking, work skills and teamwork training. There were others, too, but the point is: I turned my life around and I am proud to be free and productive. I have continued to participate in further skills training since my release and I remain free from drugs and alcohol.
My past is something that helps me relate to those going through the same challenges; and I love being there for them in the same way others were there for me when I was in need. We all make mistakes in life...some learn from them and try to do better. Those are the people I get to help every day. In the process I get to give back and make amends to the world from which I took so much.
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Jimmy
Program Manager - Washington County
I am Program Manager for Washington County Bridges to Change. My Clean date is 5/25/2002 and that is when my life started to change. On that day I was arrested once again. This time it was different and I just did not want to live like that anymore. I decided to give treatment and Recovery a chance.
Recovery is a process for me so I needed to focus on myself before I could help any one else. When I finished working a 12 step program the first time I felt like I was able to start giving back to the community that I had been taking from for all those years. Aand what better way than to become a member of my local R.A.P. core team? I attended trainings and learned that I could make a change in my community. Today I am a mentor for the treatment center I graduated from and am able to give back what was freely given to me.
Shelly
Program Manager - Multnomah County
My name is Shelly Mead and my clean date 7/31/07. I have been working for Bridges to Change since 2009. In 2007, I was released from treatment and Bridges to Change offered me a new way of life and that is how my journey began.
I spent many years in my active addiction, in and out of jails and prison, and taking from the community that I have now dedicated my life to giving back too.
I absolutely enjoy working with other women and helping them find what I have found in recovery.
Jeff
Mentor - Washington County
I am a certified recovery mentor and have had much training including MI, Professional Ethics and Boundaries and many others; including many hours of running groups.
As a mentor in Washington County I have many roles. The most important of these is integration of clients back into the community while at the same time having a full awareness that the bigger picture of lowering recidivism and public safety are at the top of the list in our field.
I am passionate and energetic and truly love what I get to do every day. The blessings of being a part of people changing their lives as we have are phenomenal and have indeed changed my life forever
Jennifer
Recovery Mentor - Washington County
I am a recovery mentor for women. I mentor women that are in the Washington County Jail as well as women in the Homeless to Work program. I have had training in Motivational Interviewing as well as Engaging and Treating Individuals with Criminal Behavior and Addiction.
I am a recovering addict who suffered from the disease of addiction for over 20 years. I was hopeless, scared and lost. I didn't know how to be a mom, a daughter or a friend for a very long time. I had to lose everything in my life, including my children, to gain the willingness to begin this journey of recovery. I recently celebrated 4 years clean.
I get to share my experience, strength and hope with my clients and show them by example that there is another way to live and there is hope! One addict helping another is my passion. WE DO RECOVER, and we don't have to do it alone! There is nothing like watching these women transform into productive members of society and gain self-worth that was gone for so long. I help them to find support groups, 12-step meetings, treatment and Clean and Sober Housing.
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Kelly
Mentor
My name is Kelly Goss and my clean date is 8/19/92. I work for Bridges To Change as a mentor for Clackamas County CSAP addiction treatment. My expertise is working with those who have been enslaved by their addiction and criminality. My heart speaks to those whose past is like mine.
I am an old town drug addict and criminal who has been clean a long time and has prospered in everything that I have worked towards. My mission is to motivate and inspire those who have lost all hope by sharing my own experience and personal growth. I have been there and I know the way out!! I can help change lives if they are willing to do the work.
I have many years of schooling, and ethics and boundries certifications, but nothing is more effective than one addict or criminal working with another.
Pete
Mentor - Multnomah County
Pete is an alumnus of Mt. Hood Community College with an AAS degree in Mental Health and Human Services.
Pete has been in the recovery field through 15 years of continuous clean time. Pete enjoys helping others learn a new way of life from the 12 step perspective.
Pete's self-care time is spent with his family, as well as his N.A. family, riding his motorcycle, and hanging with his dogs L.S., and Shadow.
Charlie
Mentor - Multnomah County
My name is Charlie Hanset and I have been clean since 7/23/2001. I am the LIRT mentor for Multnomah County Bridges to Change.
I have up to 10 clients that I work with who are active in treatment at Inact. I have been with Bridges to Change since January 2010. I love my job. Giving back to Men in recovery is a passion of mine!
Bob
Mentor - Multnomah County
My name is Bob Wingfield and I have been a Recovery Mentor at Bridges to Change in Multnomah County since January of 2010.
I got clean from alcohol and drugs in 1999 and graduated from the Mentor Program. As a result of that program and being in recovery, I started helping other addicts to find services that would help them to start a new life. I would show others where to go to find housing, food boxes, clothing, job-training and employment and direct them to 12-Step Meetings.
I spent most of my life in my active addiction and criminality; in and out of correctional facilities, alienated from my family and friends. I know the importance of one addict helping another addict because I have been there. I have continued to be involved in my community and in helping direct others to a new way of life. I find great pride in working with Bridges to Change and giving back to my community.
Alonso
Mentor - Clackamas County
My name is Alonso and I started my journey in recovery on June 18, 2005. I was a prisoner of my addiction for 27 years. Life was uncomfortable and different when I stopped using. What made a difference was I did not have to do it alone. I was helped by 12-step meetings and attending treatment where I met Doug Vanzant and Jeff Baynes.
I no longer have to run from life regardless if it's good or bad. I have been a Mentor at Bridges to Change since 2010. I am proud to be making a difference in the lives of addicts from all walks of life.
Pam
Drug Court Mentor - Clackamas County
I took many roads, but only one journey brought me to Bridges to Change. January 2008 I found myself on the door steps of an Oxford house for women and children. Empty and broken I began my recovery/rediscovery. I had 30 years filled with alcohol, drugs and domestic violence which all go hand-in hand.
Inspired by other recovering individuals I found my passion in service. I began by doing service in my Oxford house then with the chapter. I was fortunate to be part of opening a house for survivors of domestic violence and then began working for Recovery Association Project as the Women's Outreach worker.
The peace in my life continues to grow with my recovery and the people whose lives touch mine.