Jennifer Moonsong
WCLU News Director
For the past month Bridge KY employees and volunteers, as well as homeless residents, have been busy packing to move to a new location, not yet disclosed.
The property which will close on Sept. 27 has been listed at $240,000 with Botts Real Estate and Auctions.
Bridge KY Director, Wade Copas, says the non-profit’s move was prompted in part by a zoning issue that arose last year.
Bridge KY opened its doors in early 2019. Copas became a volunteer in late 2021 and took the directorship in Spring of 2022.
Since that time he’s worked along with volunteers and employees to do what the non-profit set out to do, which is to “bridge a gap between hard times and better times.”
In addition to providing shelter when necessary to residents in need, Bridge KY has a food pantry and clothing closet.
“It is hard to quantify how many people we’ve helped because we do not keep specific data on how many people we help through the food pantry or the clothing closet,” Copas said.
Copas also stresses the importance of volunteerism for the organization.
Without the health of individuals, churches, and other organizations that have reached out to help fill the pantry and clothing closet, very little would be possible. Donation, such as those make it possible for the entity to not only survive, but thrive and help others. For example, they were recently able to donate 50 boxes of clothing to a local churches mission trip to help meet the mission’s needs.
“Often times people who seek help have lost everything along with having lost their home, and clothing, and household items are necessary elements for a restart,” Copas said.
As for the sheltering aspect, Copas does know that in 18 months 120 people were helped with shelter and meals.
He says there is a great misconception that the non-profit actively brings people from other areas, and that’s simply not true.
“They come from other places, but they do that by bringing themselves here because they have a Barren County roots, or they’re hoping to get a job here, or have some connection to hear. Mostly, they are people from Barren County and the general area,” Copas said.
Copas added that individuals being aided by the non-profit are vetted through accessible means, including the sex offenders registry, and public criminal records to be certain there are no violent offenses.
Also, if someone shows up who clearly under the influence of drugs or alcohol, they are turned away.
“We say, ‘try again tonorrow’, and as a Christian I feel inclined to help people in places of need as much as I can,” Copas said.
Copas added that usually when people come to Bridge KY they’ve hit rock bottom, and are trying to get back on their feet.
“The people who come here don’t have anywhere else to turn. They have no family or friends because of past decisions, strained relationships. They’ve usually lost employment, they’ve lost housing. They have bad credit, often times they’re struggling with health issues or have a disability as well and that makes it difficult to get a job,” Copas said.
Although the struggle to gain a credible life again is profound, Copas says that Bridge KY does have success stories.
“The nonprofit’s greatest success story is still in the program, and he’s one of best my friends. He came to us in a hopeless place. He was isolated, and struggling with medical issues,” Copas said.
That success story is Ralph Parrish.
Parrish was born in Horse Cave, and has lived in Barren, Warren and Hart counties.
“I got sick. I collapsed over here in the Burkes Outlet. I went to the hospital and I was there for seven days. My best friend picked me up and he brought me here. That was March 2023,” Parrish said.
When Parish suffered from congestive heart failure in 2023, he was already in a bad situation. His marriage of 12 years had ended, he lost his job at a Warren County-based factory and was facing other health issues.
Parrish credits Bridge KY with helping him to resuscitate his life.
“They try to make you feel welcome here. They’ve been for me 100%, and whatever I could do to try to help this place I’ve done. They’ve helped with transportation, food, they’ve helped me work through the process of gaining my disability. Wade has personally taken me to the doctor,” Parrish said.
Parrish said if he were describing the organization to a stranger, he would say that it was “good people that would help you in a time of need.”
Once Parrish’s disability is in place, he plans to spend time with his 11 year old son, and his 29 year old son, and hopefully have a place of his own to enjoy life. He also says he plans to come back to Bridge as a volunteer.
Copas says that once they are out of the sold property by the end of this month, and have fully relocated to the undisclosed property, the non-profit’s mission will stay intact.
This is a developing story.
