Success Stories

Melvin Johnson came to The Bridge in 2007. He began in the Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) program, and in 2010, moved into the Personalized Recovery Oriented Services (PROS) program.

Melvin likes to stay active and is always working toward his goal of recovery. He participates in 5-10 PROS groups per week, including Individualized Recovery Planning (IRP), COD (co-occurring disorder) Relapse Prevention, Recognizing Strengths, Men's Awareness and Making Choices.

Melvin says of his time at The Bridge, "I come here 5 days a week because it's beneficial to me so I stay motivated. I try to have perfect attendance. The Bridge helped my sobriety and self-esteem. I try to stay healthy and not use."

Melvin's long-term goal is to complete his education, continue to gain more independence and be successful. He was first hospitalized for mental illness in 1979, and has a total of over 30 years of recovery under his belt. Melvin is truly optimistic about his future.

Greg Silvera came to The Bridge over 15 years ago. He lived in Bridge residential housing before recently moving to Bridge scatter-site housing. While Greg didn’t immediately participate in the groups offered by The Bridge at first, he worked up to attending groups regularly and taking pride in his appearance and participation.

Greg began taking part in the Peer To Peer group, and that inspired him to go back to school. In July of 1997 he got his GED. He joined The Bridge Job Club through the Vocational Services Program and started working. Greg held several jobs at The Bridge, being a mail clerk, working the front desk, and in Maintenance. It is because of this experience, that he then pursued further education in Maintenance.

Last summer Greg interned at Bellevue Hospital in the Maintenance Department. After the summer he went for continued training, and for the last 4 months has been working doing maintenance in an office building on Maiden Lane in lower Manhattan, with support from The Bridge Vocational Services.

Greg says of his most inspiring time at The Bridge, “the Peer To Peer group really inspired me. What helped the most were the people in the group. If you had a bad day they would be there to talk to. The togetherness of the clients was inspiring. I try to achieve in life. If I didn’t believe in achieving, I wouldn’t have been able to come this far.”

Michele Ponist came to The Bridge 5 years ago. She said when she came to The Bridge, “immediately it felt like family. I went from not wanting to work or do anything, to working. I work here at The Bridge, and I get my services here. It’s very inspiring.”

From the time Michele started at The Bridge until recently, she held various jobs around The Bridge itself. Then, back in May of this year, she started working with Mary Stone, LMSW, the Road to Recovery (R2R) Program Director here, as a Peer Specialist. R2R is a minimally structured program, which aims to identify and address barriers to formal program participation. Together, Mary and Michele make up our 2-person R2R team.

Michele works with Mary 3 days a week in 5 of the Bridge community residences where they work with small groups of up to 9 residents on skills that will help equip them for Personalized Recovery Oriented Services Programs (PROS) and other structured programs. These skills include being in a group, wellness self-management, communication skills, travel skills, stress management and keeping a routine.

Many of the residents they speak to have never been in a group before. Michele is able to connect on a peer level and speak to them from experience about what being in a group is like and the benefits.

Michele said of her work, “everyone here is so nice to talk to. I wanted to give back and share what I’ve got. I hope that it will inspire others to be willing to take a chance and believe in themselves.”

Kathleen Izzillo came to The Bridge 2 years ago. She lives in Bridge housing and "jumped in with two feet" to several PROS groups. She thinks of herself as very talkative and opinionated, and prides herself on raising the level of talkativeness in her groups because of her active participation.

Kathleen has participated in Bridge Groups Cognitive Remediation, Weight Management, Coping Through Writing and the Poetry Group. She has also been a part of Smoke Stoppers, and has not smoked for 8 months now. She also participated in the group Communicating for Goal Achievement where she learned typing and e-mail skills, and searched for job postings.

Kathleen is an experienced cashier, having worked at CVS and a pet supply company. She also gained work experience at The Bridge processing sign-in sheets for the finance department and checking coats at the 2nd floor client lounge. Through The Bridge Vocational Services, Kathleen obtained a cashier job at the US Open for 2 weeks. Most recently, Kmart hired her full-time as a seasonal cashier for the holidays. Kathleen found this position with the help of The Bridge's Vocational staff. Kathleen is hoping to make it a permanent position after the season.

Kathleen's favorite time at The Bridge is her sessions with her service coordinator. Kathleen said, "I get to open up and be me. That's the most fruitful work I do. She opens up my mind and helps me reach my goals." Kathleen also loves socializing at breakfast over coffee and at lunch in The Bridge Cafeteria. She is looking forward to a bright future.

Ron Rudoff first came to The Bridge in 1997. He started in Continuing Day Treatment (CDT) which has now been incorporated into PROS. Ron thrived in the structure this program added to his daily life. He found employment through The Bridge Vocational Services. Ron held temporary positions on and off, and from 2006-2008 he was employed as a copy operator in a small printing shop in Brooklyn.

Ron has now been in graduate housing for over a year and a half. He currently works at the front desk in Iyana House 3 days a week. He really likes that the programs he has participated in gave him so many options of things to take part in. Ron's favorite things about The Bridge have been the relationships with staff, especially the ones in the Intensive Psychiatric Rehabilitation Treatment Program (IPRT), and clients he has developed, and also the daily structure and feeling of helping others that he gets from working.