Center has new name, same focus on offering help

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) - It was cold and there were snow flurries as Suzanne Smith stood in front of the new building.

She didn’t seem to mind. Instead, Smith smiled after recalling all the people who are being served at The Bridge on 141 S. Union St.

The Fremont Tribune reports (https://bit.ly/1dQusQn ) The Bridge saw various changes in 2013.

One is its new, 6,500-square-foot building, dedicated in May.

The other involves a name change. For years, The Bridge was known as the Crisis Center for Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault.

Both changes are designed to further help the organization in its mission to prevent and eliminate violence in the lives of women, children and men, through empowerment, education and social change.

The Bridge has been around since 1981.

During its tenure, the agency had been in three other locations before moving into the new building.

“The history has always been that because of the confidential nature of the work we do, we have been very sensitive to lying low,” said Smith, the agency’s executive director. “.We’ve had a couple of moves throughout the years and never had signage, because we needed to be safe for those people walking in our doors.”

But the low-profile location provided its own challenge. People, who needed services, were confused about how to find the agency.

The agency needed to be more visible.

“We believe things have changed - that there is a stronger safety net within the community and sense of awareness and better understanding of abuse, so it’s exciting to be able to build this new facility with our sign right out front and with a big red door that says, ’You’re safe and welcome to walk in our doors.’ . We no longer need to be hidden,” Smith said.

Also prior to the new building, most of the agency’s support groups were being held outside of The Bridge, places like Care Corps and different churches. People attending a meeting weren’t sure whose program it was, she said.

And while The Bridge was based heavily on intervention response, it wanted to strengthen its prevention work.

A new facility could provide a place for support groups, forums and team meetings, where non-profit and criminal justice agencies could plan how they could strengthen their response and work in the community.

“We needed a place to plan, where all our services could be under one roof and where we could be visible in the community as we move forward,” she said.

Plans for the new building began in 2009.

A $1 million capital campaign, which provided funds to construct the building and establish a $100,000 endowment fund to sustain the structure, was launched.

Groundbreaking for the new building took place in July 2012 and the building was dedicated in May 2013.

The building includes an advocacy wing for crisis intervention and safety planning, and an education wing with a large conference room, support group rooms and a children’s room, where advocates can coach parent-child interaction.

Various agencies already have had meetings in the new building. Other agencies also have used the parent-child room.

The Bridge also is working with Project Harmony, an Omaha-based, child advocacy program, which serves Dodge, Washington and Saunders counties. When a child from one of these counties has been sexually abused, they have their forensics interview at Project Harmony.

Now, Project Harmony has committed to bringing services to The Bridge so children in these communities won’t have to be driven to Omaha.

“We want to try and limit any of the additional trauma to families,” Smith said. “It’s such a horrific, sensitive violation when a child is abuse - and then to have to go to another community to have additional services is something we’re so glad we will be able to avoid in the future.”

In November, the agency changed its name also as part of the 2009 strategic planning.

“We do so much more than crisis intervention,” Smith said. “People who use our services are not always in crisis. We felt The Bridge captures our mission statement.”

A bridge indicates moving forward, moving over obstacles.

“People really like the idea of The Bridge as a visual,” she said. “You can see that The Bridge is taking you to another place, a better place.”

The Bridge, a private, non-profit agency, has nine staff members and 45 volunteers who serve people in Dodge, Washington, Burt, Cuming and Saunders counties. It has satellite offices at Blair Memorial Community Hospital and Dinklage Medical Clinic in West Point.

In 2013, The Bridge served 657 individuals with 603 children in the five-county area and responded to almost 4,000 crisis calls. Many times, when staff members or volunteers meet with clients, it may be the first time those individuals have ever shared what’s happened to them.

In addition, representatives of The Bridge gave 357 youth presentations, primarily in schools, to approximately 7,000 individuals.

Over the past five years, The Bridge has seen an 82 percent increase in the numbers of individuals seen on a monthly basis.

What if The Bridge didn’t exist?

“I would hate to think about this agency not being available, because the community has learned to count on us to be here,” Smith said.

The Bridge has support groups for adults and children who have experienced domestic abuse and sexual assault. Its services also include safety planning, accompaniment and medical support and criminal and civil support. It has a batterer’s intervention program. All victims’ services are free, confidential and available in English and Spanish.

The agency also has life skills programming, which assists people with other challenges including substance abuse, eating disorders and childhood trauma.

“We want to be able to address all the issues to reduce barriers so as they move on they’re able to move on with a clean slate and be open to all the opportunities in front of them,” she said.

Those wanting more information may contact the Fremont office at 402-721-4340. The 24-hour crisis line is available at 402-727-7777 or toll free at: 1-888-721-4340. The Spanish crisis line number is: 1-877-215-0167.

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Information from: Fremont Tribune, https://www.fremontneb.com