MINISTRY FOUNDER RESCUES EX-CONS

BUCKINGHAM - If a young man grows up in a neighborhood surrounded by drugs,
violence and crime, there's more than a remote possibility he'll end up in
jail.

But too often, incarceration is not a one-time deal. After serving their
time, many people are thrown right back into the same Maelstrom of
self-destructive behavior.

William Washington has seen it all before.

"They say, 'I didn't have no other choice. I had to go back into the same
neighborhood. I had to go back into the same drugs'; the same crime.'"

Thirteen years ago, Washington founded The Bridge Ministry, a sort of boot
camp for former convicts, and an alternative to prison or probation for many.

Located on an 18-acre campground in rural Buckingham, its 16 buildings
house up to 75 men while they slough off their drug addictions, become
disciplined and productive members of society and embrace biblical values.

Twenty-eight men now live at the facility, where they get up at dawn,
worship God, attend church services and basically learn how to live in a
new way.

"That's just something we use for the advantage of keeping guys out of
jail," Washington said. "When you get them into the system, there's a good
chance you'll come out the same way you came in."

"We're not just trying to deal with the drugs, with the drug addiction.
We're trying to change the whole of the man," he said.

The men at The Bridge Ministry also spend time learning job skills, and are
helped with the task of finding a job, an otherwise difficult prospect for
those with criminal records.

After a year at the Buckingham facility, the residents move to an intern
house in Charlottesville, where they put their new life skills to use,
living within a budget and working a job. Finally, they make the transition
into the community.

"We take biblical terms and challenge the guys to make it a reality in our
day-to-day walk. We respect one another, love one another - these are
things we don't hear in our community no more," Washington said.

Washington started the nonprofit group with his wife, Joyce, in his house
13 years ago after getting out of jail on a drug conviction and feeling
like too many former inmates were returning to prison, he said.

It's only through grace and the support of his wife, he said, that he
emerged from the darkness that enveloped him as a teenager. His father shot
him when he was 14. He then ran away from home to Charlottesville, where he
started selling drugs to survive.

He also credits the support of the Charlottesville community and a faithful
board of directors in helping the ministry along.

Part of Washington's goal is to have the ministry men be familiar faces in
the community, and a big part of this is taking them to worship services at
Christ Community Church in Charlottesville.

Diane McDougall, a member of the church's congregation who has worked with
The Bridge Ministry on brush-clearing and other community projects,
described Washington as a friendly man with a big heart.

"He doesn't just want your labor, he wants you to .get to know the men.
These are men who want to change their lives, and they want that kind of
community involvement," she said.

John Manzano, the senior pastor at Christ Community, praised Washington's
work in encouraging the men of The Bridge Ministry to join the choir, the
sound ministry and adult education program.

"He's been able to involve the efforts of young and old, rich and poor,
black and white, and that's not an easy thing to do in this community,"
Manzano said.