Our Mission
To bridge the gap between people living in isolation and the larger community.
The sharing of unique passions, skills and interests enriches both the community and the participant, reinforcing the individual’s sense of purpose and belonging.
Community Bridges shares the broader CSAC vision: a compassionate, resilient community that honors everyone’s full potential.
Community Bridges participants jam together on the summer solstice at World Make Music Day 2023.
Community Bridges achievements include:
- Launching a community mandala project.
- Hosting free community suppers.
- Volunteering at Charter House.
- Card parties etc, at community centers such as Gather.
- Benefit party for H.O.P.E.
- Building friendship benches.
- Music at Porter Rehab & Nursing Home.
- Free jewelry workshops.
- International Make Music Day facilitation.
- Annual Green-Up Day participation.
Friendship Bench built by Community Bridges participants
A Two-Way Street of Benefits: According to Mary Price, Community Bridges peer coordinator, the program emphasizes mutual benefit. Participants are encouraged to discover and share with the community their unique passions, skills, and interests. The goal is not just to enrich community life, but also to reinforce the individual’s sense of purpose. Both the community and its members flourish through ongoing interaction.
Community Bridges Origins. Community Bridges began in the early 2000s. CSAC’s Intensive Adult Mental Health staff, knowing that isolation harm’s people’s health, saw need to foster more meaningful community engagement in Addison County. Early initiatives of the project dubbed Community Bridges sought to connect folks who live in isolation to form a bridge to the wider community. Transitioning from isolation to full community inclusion became the goal.
With the onset of Covid-19, isolation became necessary. Though the virus kept us from being out in the community, the program carried on. Community Bridges participants rallied with online meetings, chat rooms, book clubs, and music.
Concerts via Zoom were offered on a weekly basis by local volunteer musicians. All were welcome to zoom in.
After-concert chats were hosted by participants as casual get-togethers. Strangers turned into friends during covid-19’s three-year siege. The online chats and book discussion group are still going strong.
You are not alone – Community Bridges can help you connect.
Community Bridges: A predominately peer-run, managed, and volunteer-attended program supporting human connection. Community Bridges seeks to connect folks who live in isolation to form a bridge in the community. We support isolated folks who are transitioning to full community inclusion. Funding is provided by CSAC.
Overview: Led by a committee of community and client participants. Community Bridges presents individuals with ample opportunities to engage in community events and volunteer projects. Its foundation is the commitment to restore the essence of community and ensure that all individuals, regardless of background, find their place within it.
Want to learn more about Community Bridges? Contact Mary Price at mprice@csac-vt.org or Thomas Hill at thill@csac-vt.org. Or call 802-388-6751, extension 527.
"The Upstanders" virtual film screening
Director and Executive Producer Scilla Andreen saw that bullying among friends, families and coworkers had evolved along with technology. So she decided to make the movie to explore the problem and offer practical strategies to combat it. But it wasn’t until she made the movie that she realized how ubiquitous the problem was.
“Online bullying is epidemic,” she said.
Andreen said cyberbullying follows students home from school in the form of social media posts and text messages. Even as many schools across the country are temporarily shuttered as a coronavirus precaution, cyberbullying can persist.
“The Upstanders” is not only for those who personally experience bullying, but also for kids and adults who witness bullying. The film discusses that the larger the number of bystanders to bullying, the less likely it is that an individual intervenes. The bystander has the power to make an incredible difference.
“The Upstanders” is the third film in a trilogy that began with the documentary “Like,” which was about the impact social media has on our lives.
