“Most people never really sat down and got to know a homeless person, but every homeless person is just a real person that was created by God and it is the same kind of different as us; they just have a different story.” 
— Ron Hall

Picture this - you’re a Freshman, you’ve got your learners permit, you have your whole life ahead of you, and the sky’s the limit. What could go wrong? 

The short answer is: everything. 

At 15 years old, our founder Kenny Thomison was starting down a path that would consume his existence for the next 3 decades. While he should’ve been playing sports and studying for his next math test, he found himself making the sorts of bad choices that resulted in a long term struggle with addiction. 

Throughout the next 26 years Kenny tried multiple rehabs, the 12 steps, meetings, etc. with little in the way of results. He hurt the people he loved and burned lots of bridges in those dark days. By the time the new millennium rolled around, he had lost all hope and found himself living on the streets. Addiction had taken everything from him except his life and he often wished for death. 

Then in 2006, he became critically ill with sepsis and the attending doctor told him that they were going to turn the machines off. No one was sure if he would live or die, but God had a plan for Kenny’s life. It was nothing short of miraculous for him to walk out of that hospital, and from then on Kenny knew his purpose: share the gospel with those who were experiencing homelessness.

One day, he felt lead to go share the good news with some of the folks on East Lancaster in Fort Worth. As he was speaking with them he found that they were too hungry to listen, so the next time he went out he brought a bunch of watermelons with him. And with that, Building Bridges Life Restoration Center was born. 

And that my friend is how our founder and president Kenny Thomison went from burning bridges to building them.