Mission Solano To Add Three New Buildings At Facility

Mission Solano is getting ready to expand their recently opened Bridge to Life facility with the addition of three new buildings on the property. The project is part of a multi-phase plan to have ten buildings at the site, in all; there are currently five buildings on the site.

“It’s the building of our men’s shelter which will add about 60 beds, and also the caretaker’s house and an office building,” said Rod Malloy, Chief Operations Officer.

When the additions are completed, the residence will offer over 200 beds. Malloy said the additions are made as funding and staff are increased to be able to support projects. The facility depends on a staff of counselors and volunteers and is looking to offer services by medical and mental health professionals, too.

“People living there will be able to set up appointments and just walk over to the other building on campus to meet some of their physical and mental health needs,” said Malloy.

Located on Beck Avenue, Bridge to Life offers 60 beds to single parents, families, and veterans struggling with getting on their feet and finding permanent and safe housing.

The facility incorporates a program designed to help residents from a holistic approach, working within the areas of physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual and psychological well being. Residents work with counselors on a 30-day rotation, setting goals and tackling tough issues, but the time each guest is allotted to stay at the facility differs.

“People ask the question how long do they stay, and my answer is as long as they need to,” said Malloy.

Though the staff and residents await the completion of the buildings, many services are still being offered. The building used as the dining hall is also where volunteer staff take care of children. Women at the facility take classes offered at Bridge to Life throughout the week, or often need someone to watch their children for such reasons as job interviews.

“It’s your day care facility, it’s your dining hall, and it's your general (recreation) hall,” said Donna Quintero, Community Relations Manager.

They hope to offer a full time licensed day care at the property once the building for the dining hall is built. 

 “The vision is for this to be open from 6 am to 6 p.m., or whatever the hours will be at the time,” said Quintero. “So the guests will not have to call and do a last minute, ‘Hey can you babysit my kids?’ but know this is available and open so they can drop their kids off.”

The facility not only depends on volunteers to donate their time, but donations from individuals and groups. Sgts. David Edwards and Brian LeClair of the Air Force Sergeants Association recently made a donation of an assortment of personal and house cleaning products. The group often finds organizations they can do fundraisers for, so they were happy to be able to help the Bridge to Life residents this time around.

“This is the first time we really stepped out of the box of our thinking of what we wanted to do to help our community, because that’s part of our organization as well,” said Edwards. “It’s not only our base but the local community and we choose Mission Solano because we knew there was always a need for something.”