SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — The BRIDGE Foundation of Santa Cruz County, which provides grants averaging $75 to help people obtain essential items for navigating the criminal legal system and rebuilding their lives, including socks, bus passes, phones and luggage locks, will officially launch Aug. 20 with a public fundraiser at Natural Bridges Farm.
The BRIDGE Foundation of Santa Cruz County is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to provide material support that promotes rehabilitation, recovery and successful reentry for Santa Cruz County public defender clients. The independent charitable organization is not a county agency and does not accept public funds.
Before the Aug. 20 launch, BRIDGE had been quietly operating during its pilot phase and had already raised more than $10,000 in seed funding and provided grants to 16 adults and young people, distributing more than $1,200 in direct material support.
The foundation also recently received a $5,000 grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation to expand services for children, youth and families impacted by involvement with the criminal legal system. The funding will help pay for summer camp and sports fees, educational and enrichment opportunities, school supplies and other resources.
According to the press release, the most requested item is a working phone.
“A phone is how someone hears back about a job, receives a court reminder, stays connected to treatment, and communicates with their attorney,” the release stated.
They are essential for almost any form of help.
The Aug. 20 fundraiser marks the beginning of full operations for BRIDGE.
Heather Rogers, Santa Cruz County public defender and a co-founder of BRIDGE, reflected on the hardships people face in the press release: “I’ve spent my career sitting next to people at some of the hardest moments of their lives; the obstacles that keep people stuck are often surprisingly small — a phone, a pair of work boots, a bus pass. None of those things are expensive, but not having them can change everything. BRIDGE exists to remove barriers when it matters most.”
In one instance, the press release reported, “A young person served by BRIDGE had struggled to connect with conventional talk therapy and wanted to try equine-assisted therapy instead. BRIDGE paid for a single introductory session. When another community member learned about it, that person volunteered to fund a full year of treatment.”
“That grant wasn’t remarkable because it was large,” said Athena Reis, vice president of the BRIDGE Foundation. “It was remarkable because someone else saw what one session made possible and stepped forward to fund an entire year.”
Big results from small grants are part of what BRIDGE hopes to accomplish.
According to the release, BRIDGE’s program, which also helps people during their court hearings, doesn’t just save them from prison: “A criminal case can cost someone far more than their freedom. It can mean losing housing, employment, transportation, family connections, or access to treatment.”
BRIDGE provides targeted assistance at pivotal moments, with grants intended not to solve every problem someone faces but to provide transitional support that makes forward progress possible.
The foundation was established to complement the Santa Cruz County Public Defender’s Office’s holistic defense model, which combines courtroom advocacy with support addressing interconnected legal and social needs. BRIDGE helps meet material, educational, therapeutic and treatment needs that public funding does not reach.
The Aug. 20 event will be hosted at Natural Bridges Farm, where, “Since 1990, the Homeless Garden Project has helped people rebuild their lives through paid transitional employment, social support, and meaningful connection to community. […] The Homeless Garden Project and BRIDGE serve many of the same neighbors, approaching their needs through different doors.”
More than 90% of Homeless Garden Project trainees have had some involvement with the justice system, according to Executive Director Darrie Ganzhorn.
“Partnering with the BRIDGE Foundation to launch this innovative initiative was a natural fit,” Ganzhorn said. “Not only do we serve many of the same individuals—more than 90% of our trainees have had some involvement with the justice system—but we share a deep belief in the power of community.”
According to the press release, the launch event will run from 4 to 6:30 p.m. and will provide food, drinks, live music and remarks from Willy Elliott-McCrea, former CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County. Guests will also hear from a participant in the Homeless Garden Project’s transitional employment program.
The suggested donation is $45, which is more than half of the average BRIDGE grant of $75. Donations will benefit both BRIDGE and the Homeless Garden Project, while a $75 donation can fund one average BRIDGE grant completely.
“Every one of us has been one person, one opportunity, or one act of kindness away from a different life,” Rogers said. “The people we serve are no different. Sometimes the difference between someone moving forward and falling further behind is remarkably small. BRIDGE exists because our community can be that difference.”
For the BRIDGE Foundation, rehabilitation isn’t built on grand gestures but on meeting practical needs at the moment they matter most. Its public launch marks an invitation for the community to invest in the small interventions that can open the door to lasting change.
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