Meet Vanessa Tinsley of Bridge to Hope

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Tinsley.

Vanessa, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I lived the life of my dreams. I had a beautiful family, a new home in the first gated community in our area. I was mostly a stay at home mom, and I actually really enjoyed every aspect of homemaking and motherhood. I thought that would be my life forever.

Then one day I came home and my husband was gone. We didn’t fight, I thought we were happy. But, he said he had “everything I never wanted.” He didn’t want kids, which I wasn’t supposed to be able to have, but here they were. Everything about our beautiful life just made him feel tied down. He wasn’t living his dream. Just shortly after, he lost his job at the airline.

Now I had no income, no job prospects and no idea what to do next. I applied for emergency food stamps. Back in the day, it was all on paper. You had to wait for an appointment to apply, go in to the office, wait three weeks for emergency assistance. My kids were about to starve and I couldn’t find help anywhere.

A friend drove me 22 miles to a food pantry where I was made to feel like dirt. I was given barely enough food to feed my children 1 meager meal of one chicken thigh, one spoon of rice, and a few green beans. I went to bed hungry that night and cried myself to sleep. It wasn’t much better when the food stamps finally arrived. I can still clearly remember how over the moon I was to go shopping.

A months supply of food stamps was about what I was accustomed to spending in two weeks. So, I carefully priced and added up each item. Oh Happy Day! Then when I went to check out, I got the shock of my life. I couldn’t buy laundry soap, toilet paper, or toothpaste! What would I tell my kids? I remember how my mother would always say, “those people on Food Stamps stink.”

In that moment, I understood why. I also joined the ranks of the stinky that day. You can guess what happened when I went home. I had another round of self-pity and crying the night away. But that night I realized something, if this was happening to me, it was happening to others. I needed to solve this for more than myself.

I started knocking on doors and turning over rocks. I put boxes in churches to collect toilet paper. I sold Avon and put all the profits into buying deodorant and shampoo just so I could give it away. Once a month I sat next to the lady who handed out the government cheese (Oh dear, my age is showing!) and after getting my rations, I handed out toilet paper, shampoo, deodorant, and soap. It was crazy, I didn’t even have a car.

I am so grateful and thankful for this experience. It taught me about judgment, it taught me that it’s not the lack of goods or food in this country, it’s the lack of compassion. I learned that once you are down, it’s nearly impossible to get back up. At that point, everything is structured to hold you down. There is very little available to help you rise.

When you have it all and lose it, you find out that you don’t have all the friends you thought you had. I learned to appreciate the incredible joy of a hot shower, the glorious aroma of a freshly laundered dress, and don’t even get me started on running my tongue across just brushed teeth! Most of all I learned, that things that seem impossible, are possible.

Bridge to Hope was just a dream I was too naïve not to believe in. An idea, a few well placed empty boxes with handmade signs, and a few shelves in my garage. The handful of families I helped, they were just grateful that someone cared. Last year, we served over 32,000 people – providing them with wrap-around services and comprehensive supports.

I am still a dreamer, and I am still naïve enough to believe we can help a lot more people become sustainably self-sufficient. Miami is an amazing city. There are a plethora of generous souls living and vacationing here. Some people visit with the express purpose of volunteering! There is a tremendous amount of poverty here, but together, we can change that – one life at a time.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Smooth road, no, I can’t say that it has been smooth. You would be surprised at how hard it is. You would think feeding hungry children, and senior citizens would be a no brainer. Helping families avoid homelessness? It should be easy to see why that is important.

But finding support for what I do is challenging. There isn’t anything “sexy” about meeting basic needs. It took me years and years of struggling to bring in enough money to keep going and growing. I worked myself nearly to death (literally!) trying to earn enough to pay for everything. I did that not once, but twice, before I caught on.

I spent three years in treatment at Sylvester for a blood disorder that required an IV every week. I would sit for hours, sometimes really feeling awful, but I had my tablet and would get my work done.

By the way, side note, if you ever need that kind of care, UM Sylvester Center has the absolute best doctors and staff. Beyond that, there was also finding the right place, and outgrowing it, over and over. Landlords that doubled the rent as soon as they saw us get funding. Vandals that stole our brand new trailer full of supplies and stripped our truck three times in four months.

My list goes on, but the struggles are what made me and this organization strong. There were also all the wonderful people who showed up and helped me make it work. As the saying goes, “That which does not kill me makes me stronger.”

Bridge to Hope – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am the CEO of my organization. Which means… I wear a lot of hats. I may be out speaking (which I love), or I may be driving the truck (that…not so much). Bridge to Hope is known for it’s unique approach to community service. It’s not us and them at Bridge to Hope, it’s we. Those who come to us, they are us. We are in this solution making business together.

I love the way our clients begin to help each other and bypass us altogether. Yes! Our clients are given choices in what they receive. We strive to be inclusive, encouraging, and mindful in our interactions and relationships with clients. If you visit our food pantry, we won’t hand you a bag of doughnuts and peas then send you on out the door. Here, you will “shop” for meat, produce, and other products.

So if you can’t eat red meat, your allergic to peanuts or your doctor has you on a low sodium diet, you can find the food that makes you feel good and meets your individual need. Honestly, I hope our approach is a reflection of who I am. I am most proud of our diversity as an organization.

You see it in the people we serve, on our board, and with the staff. We come from everywhere, from an abundance of races, religions, nations, backgrounds, and identities. It’s marvelous and wonderful, and very humbling to be a part of.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Depending on how you see things. All of it or none of it is luck. I believe we are responsible for creating a life we want. That doesn’t mean free of adversity, it means in spite of it. I’ve had a stroke, a serious car accident, survived sexual assault; I was a homeless teen, grew up in a violent home, was given up for adoption. I did not come gently into this life, but I am happy, and I have used all the “unlucky” “bad” things as my reason to be better, and do my part to make the world a kinder, gentler place for others.

I am happy because… there were times when the only thing I could choose was my attitude, so I decided to make it a good one. And, I don’t want to downplay the roles of all the wonderful, kind, and compassionate people who helped me get where I am today and are helping me get where I am going- by chalking it up to luck. I am very grateful for the good fortune I have had in meeting some truly generous and amazing people who have impacted my life and work.

Again, I live in Miami, and it often gets a bad wrap, but look around you will see the generous spirit of Miamians all over the place. We raise millions of dollars on Give Miami Day, for the big guys and the grassroots organizations alike. I guess I am “lucky” to live and work here. I just thank God for it all.

Pricing:

• It only takes $10 to provide $75 worth of food to a family
• $30 feeds a family of 4 for a week
• $50 a week for 5-weeks trains a young man at high risk for adult incareration in Microsoft Office skills so he can seek real employment
• $3000 a month is what it takes to provide our community with fresh food and personal hygiene products worth over $50,000

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bridgetohope.net
• Phone: 3052587803
• Email: info@bridgetohope.net
• Instagram: bridge2hope
• Facebook: facebook.com/bridgetohope
• Twitter: B2Hrocks

Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.