Our Story
We are a growing, gritty, entrepreneurial storefront mission committed to serving the wellbeing of our city. We’ve had a mission presence on Queen Street since 2014.
At The Bridge we care about social justice and are committed to pursuing the wellbeing and wholeness of our neighbourhood, community, and city. The bottom line is people matter, families matter, children matter and a healthy community matters.
Over the years, we have had the privilege of hosting warming spaces during the winter, cooling spaces during the summer, a community drop-in, neighbourhood meals, and personal development workshops.
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2014
2014 - Queen Street Mission Begins
Since 2014, we’ve had a mission presence on Queen Street, under a former name: TheHub. This marked the start of our journey in the city.
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2018
2018 - Founding of Third Space Café
In 2018, we founded Third Space Café, a non-profit social enterprise café as a safe, accessible place for all people, with particular concern for the vulnerable of our city.
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2020
2020 - Breakfast Program
The Bridge Breakfast Program worked alongside Niagara Region during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Once funding ended, the Breakfast Program remained, thanks to volunteers and personal donations.
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2023
2023 - Bridge Food Recovery Program
In 2023, we launched The Bridge Food Recovery Program, in partnership with La Tablee Des Chefs. Recognizing gaps in our city, our aim is to create a city where there is zero waste and zero hunger.
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2023
2023 - The Bridge Gala
Our first ever large-scale gala was held at Club Italia in Niagara Falls in November 2023. This night of food, fun, and fundraising contributed over $70,000 to our mission.
Our Mission
We are committed to having a working relationship with our city, region, and every support service responding to housing and food insecurity in Niagara Falls.
MISSION
We believe every person is created by God, loved by God and inherently worthy of dignity and respect. Jesus lived in a way that reflected deep care and compassion for underprivileged and pushed-away people. This is what prompts our mission as we seek to embody and live out God’s love for all people, with particular care for those in vulnerable places.
VISION
We see a city where everyone is safely housed and nobody goes to bed hungry. A place where people embrace our shared humanity, transcending common barriers to indiscriminately care for each other and honour one anothers inherent dignity and worth. As The Bridge continues to grow, we are committed to four core community pillars:
Bridge Sundays: this is the valuable faith element of our mission.
Bridge Breakfast: our daily breakfast program, largely fueled by volunteers
Bridge Food Recovery: our new mission, collecting, storing, and distributing thousands of pounds of good, cooked food to community partners.
Bridge Better Together: the unified belief that we can all work together to make our city a better place.
VALUES
Showing up, Caring for the Vulnerable, Suspending Judgment, Pursuing Wellbeing, Embracing Partnership.
Our Team
Meet us!
Pastor Steve DeBoer
Since 2020, Steve deBoer has served as the Executive Director and Mission Pastor of The Bridge.
To reach Steve: steve@thebridgenf.ca
Cathy Benjamins
Cathy is a the Manager of Office Administation and Finance at The Bridge.
To reach Cathy: admin@thebridgenf.ca
LISA VANDERKLIPPE
Lisa is the Community Support Worker at The Bridge.
To reach Lucas: lisa@thebridgenf.ca
LUCAS MICHTICS
Lucas works alongside The Bridge in an Executive Mission Assistant role.
To contact Lucas: lucas@thebridgenf.ca