Building bridges. Empowering futures. Elevating public defense.
Criminal legal system involvement destabilizes people, families, and communities
Our mission is to provide material support to promote rehabilitation, recovery, and reentry for public defender clients in Santa Cruz County.
LAUNCH EVENT
Dear Friends,
On August 20, we're officially launching the BRIDGE Foundation of Santa Cruz County, in partnership with the Homeless Garden Project at Natural Bridges Farm in Santa Cruz.
The BRIDGE Foundation was created from a simple but powerful belief: that lasting public safety, equity, and justice come not only from client-centered advocacy, but also from investing in people, strengthening community partnerships, and creating pathways to stability and opportunity. As we bring that vision to life, we would be honored to have you join us.
In just a few months, we've raised more than $13,000 in seed funding to meet immediate needs—from warm socks and work boots to treatment program fees, transportation assistance, and working cell phones. A grant of $5,000 from the Annie E. Casey Foundation is targeted at meeting the needs of children, youth, and families. We would love to match that grant with community donations, bringing more opportunity to our young people and their families in the form of school clothes, camp fees, and enrichment activities.
The evening will bring together community leaders, advocates, and supporters who share a commitment to building a stronger Santa Cruz County. I hope you to see you there!
In community,
Lisa McCamey
President of the BRIDGE Foundation
Notes from the BRIDGE
Become a Sponsor
Community sponsors sustain the work by providing a stable source of funding and resources to support our most vulnerable community members when they need it the most.
A special thank you to Options by DMS, our first community sponsor and Bridge Builder. Options by DMS provides alternatives to incarceration, “through innovative technology that prioritizes rehabilitation without compromising accountability.”
Sponsor recognition is intended solely to acknowledge community support and does not constitute endorsement of any business, service, or product.
Building bridges
Sometimes all a person needs to continue their journey toward rehabilitation, reentry, and recovery is support to reach the next stage. We help bridge barriers to success by providing public defender clients with resources to meet critical material needs when they need them most.
Empowering futures
Most people know what they need to succeed. Yet, public defender clients often do not have the resources to address the root causes of criminal legal system involvement. By providing material support aimed at tackling systemic poverty, mental health and substance use disorders, homelessness, and other obstacles, we help participants help themselves.
Elevating public defense
The Santa Cruz County Public Defender’s community-based whole person defense model addresses the root causes of system involvement by combining zealous defense in the courtroom, holistic representation designed to meet enmeshed legal and social needs, and robust community engagement. This holistic model helps people identify and break the harmful cycles that drive recidivism, break families apart, and hurt our communities. This “big picture” is important, but sometimes people need urgent help with the basics—things like clothing, a tent, or a lift. We support holistic defense by helping system-involved community members meet their material, educational, therapeutic, and treatment needs.
Why BRIDGE?
Bridges reduce distance, connect people, and overcome obstacles.
Bridging barriers to rehabilitation, recovery, and reentry
Recognizing that small acts of compassion make a big difference
Inspired by the promise of holistic defense
Doing a lot with a little
Giving people help when they need it the most
Engaging our community to lift each other up
“Sometimes it's the little things that make the biggest difference for our clients—shoes when they get out of jail, a tent if they are experiencing homelessness, tuition for soccer camp for a system-involved child who wouldn’t otherwise be able to go. By helping with the ‘little things,’ the Bridge Foundation can make a big dent in mass incarceration.”
— Heather Rogers, Public Defender of Santa Cruz County / Cofounder of BRIDGE Foundation
Make an impact today
Support our mission by contributing a donation. Every dollar makes a difference. Small steps can lead to big changes for people who need material support for rehabilitation, recovery, and reentry.
“[O]ne of the most vital ways we sustain ourselves is by building communities of resistance, places where we know we are not alone.”
— bell hooks
Stay connected
Sign up to be the first to know about our fundraisers, initiatives, and events. Community is power.