BRADENTON -- By any measure, the safety net for the homeless, the hungry, the destitute and the hopeless is strained to the breaking point in Manatee County. Too many times, it may even be missing altogether because the need is so overwhelming.
Thursday, three young women sat on a sofa at Lighthouse Treasures Store, bright-eyed, alert, articulate and smiling.
They were charming and brave, too.
You wouldn’t know it, but each of them is recovering from alcohol or drug abuse.
Not so long ago, they were on the verge of plunging right past society’s safety net and into an abyss from which they might never recover.
And yet, looking at them on that sofa, they seemed so normal, just like anyone’s favorite daughter.
Maybe that’s just the point.
It can happen to anyone.
Hope Kerkof, founder of Light Under the Bridge Homeless Ministry with her husband, Kevin Kerkof, had to fight to hold back the tears as the young women shared their stories.
Now all three are among the residents of Lighthouse, a faith-based transitional recovery home for women in Manatee County.
Lisa Soward, 39, admits she was “so broken” by her battles with alcohol.
But by accepting a healing strategy of Light Under the Bridge Homeless Ministry, Soward said she is regaining control of her life.
“I am strengthening my relationship with the Lord,” Soward said.
Bailey Bowen, 22, said she was a drug abuser, and had reached the point where she didn’t want to live anymore.
Life in the recovery home has turned her around.
“I never laughed so hard or smiled so much. I wake up happy. The other ladies in the house are so supportive,” Bowen said.
Katie Wallis, 28, said she had also been in a downward spiral with drug abuse.
Lighthouse opened at just the right time to pull her back from the brink, Wallis said.
“God came in and completely broke me down. There is such freedom in surrender to God. Since then my life has been straight up,” Wallis said.
“It’s hard to think about the person I used to be.”
Kerkof’s emotion at hearing those stories touched something in her soul, and gave her validation that the ministry’s efforts were helping save the down-and-out.
Light Under the Bridge opened a Christian faith-based transitional recovery home for women in Bradenton in July 2010. Last month, they opened Lighthouse Treasures at 4540 14th St. W.
Proceeds from the sales of items at the thrift store help pay for the ministry and the recovery home.
Light Under the Bridge, patterned on a parent project in Seattle, takes its name from faith workers who look under bridges for homeless people to help.
Hope Kerkof is a graduate of Bradenton Christian School and the University of Central Florida. She once imagined a career for herself in business, but in her time in Seattle, she became committed to the Light Under the Bridge outreach. She met Kevin, a former Farm Bureau agent, in Orlando. They are now both ministers.
The program provides a phased approach to help individuals and families recover from crisis, setback and distress. Often the causes are addiction, abuse, trauma and homelessness.
Each of the women on the sofa Thursday is still in the healing phase. In addition to getting help for emotional or physical wounds, they also participate in Bible study, worship and daily devotions.
When they are ready, they will move on to jobs or job training, or more education.
“The residents will be staying six months to two years while they are equipped to lead functional and successful lives,” Hope Kerkof said.
Referrals come from a variety of places, including Manatee Glens, the Bill Galvano One Stop Center and Manatee Memorial Hospital, she said.
Already, the couple are well along on opening a second recovery home, bringing to 18 the number of women they can house at a time.
Beyond that, they potentially see a home for men and a home for families.
“We have many church partners, and we are open to more,” she said.
A mission flier describes the recovery discipleship homes as a hand-up, not a hand-out. Participants are required to pay two-thirds of their income or a maximum of $400 a month for room, board and meals.
Jael Heart, director of the women’s program, worked with the Kerkofs in Seattle.
“Their heart is in the same place as mine,” Heart said. “A tender word, a kind word, and showing the love of Jesus to the homeless.” The ministry’s approach works if people are “willing to change their lives and live on the narrow path,” said Heart, once herself a victim of domestic violence.
Light Under the Bridge is based on love, compassion and offering a second or third chance to participants, she said.
“The only thing we ask you to do is give up drugs and alcohol,” Heart said. “All I know is that God made me happy and I try to lead by example.”
For more information about Light Under the Bridge Homeless Mission, call (941) 465-7400 or visit www.lightunderthebridge.com.
