Bridges To Life

The Bridges To Life (BTL) program has two main goals: (1) To reduce recidivism (re-offending) rates of program graduates, thereby enhancing public safety and saving taxpayer dollars; and (2) To facilitate the healing process for victims and offenders.

The Bridges To Life program effects a transformation in the minds and hearts of offenders so that, once released, they will not return to their former life of crime. Because BTL graduates recidivate (return to prison within 3 years after release) at a significantly lower rate (14.8%) than the national average of 38-40%, we know the program works. Fewer crimes means fewer crime victims and the enhancement of public safety. BTL is a restorative justice process that not only rehabilitates criminals, thereby reducing the number of inmates who return to prison, but also promotes healing for victims of crime. Many victims of crime are often emotionally broken by their experience, as well as faced with an adversarial and complex judicial system and few social supports. BTL volunteers who participate in our program as crime victim speakers report that sharing their stories with offenders offers a sense of empowerment that promotes forgiveness and hope.

Bridges To Life is led by Founder and Chief Executive Officer, John Sage, and a Board of Directors that provides fiscal and practical direction. The BTL Board is comprised of nine members with established interests in social services, philanthropy, law, accounting, and business. Every board member contributes financially to BTL, assists with fundraising efforts, and provides in-prison volunteer service. Several members provide legal and business-related advice and counsel, and all provide the social and spiritual support needed for BTL staff and volunteers to fulfill the mission of the organization. Mr. Sage leads a staff consisting of a Chief Operating Officer, Development Director, Communications Manager, Outreach Manager, Outreach Coordinator, and 12 full-time Regional Coordinators. The Regional Coordinators typically manage BTL projects in 4-8 prison units located within two hours of their home. This role involves many tasks including, but not limited to, recruiting and training volunteers and working with the prison staff to coordinate the implementation of our program inside the units.

BTL continues to successfully carry out its mission with the cooperation and partnership of numerous community agencies, faith-based organizations, and government entities. Since its inception, Bridges To Life has worked in close collaboration with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to provide a grassroots solution that reduces recidivism and makes communities safer.

Bridges To Life also works closely with the Harris County Community Supervision & Corrections Department to implement projects in two women's alternative facilities in Houston (the Women Helping Ourselves programs at Atascocita and Santa Maria Hostel), and with the leadership of the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department to conduct our juvenile program. BTL also partners with CitySquare and The Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Centers (ARC) in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio, utilizing a modified version of its core curriculum to serve residents seeking counseling and addiction-related services.

BTL is a steady source of referrals for The WorkFaith Connection, SER–Jobs for Progress, One Man's Treasure, and Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP). These re-entry partnerships allow BTL to extend resources to offender participants, providing them with opportunities for education, training, and employment-related services that will aid them in successfully reintegrating into their communities.

The latest three-year recidivism study of BTL graduates reflected a recidivism rate of just 14.8%. Nationwide, recidivism rates are reported to have remained “largely stable since the mid-1990s, varying between 38% and 40%" (Pew Center State of Recidivism Study, 2011).

The economic impact of crime is profound as well. The cost to the taxpayer to incarcerate an offender in a Texas prison over the average sentence is approximately $105,000 (Texas Department of Criminal Justice, 2016), and that is in addition to the significant costs incurred at the county level, such as arrest and jail prior to incarceration. On top of those expenses, there are significant social costs. A recent study finds that incarceration reduces post-release employment and wages, increases take-up of food stamps, decreases likelihood of marriage and increases the likelihood of divorce. Based on changes in defendant behavior alone, the study estimates that a one-year prison term for marginal defendants conservatively generates $56,200 to $66,800 in social costs.

The 5-year average cost of the BTL program is just $208 per graduate. Based on the reduction in recidivism rates, the increase in public safety, and multiple costs listed above, BTL is saving taxpayers millions of dollars every year.