On March 13, 1983, a group of well-intentioned individuals founded an emergency shelter for neighbors in the city of Manchester who had fallen on rough times. The five-bed shelter began with a simple advocacy program designed to help people regain their footing. Known simply as Lazarus House, the project continued to grow and mature, guiding more people and opening new avenues and doors for people within the community. Through it all, founding member and Executive Director, as well Enterprise Bank’s 2011 Celebration of Excellence Community Service Award recipient, Bridget Shaheen, has guided and fostered the Lazarus House Ministries with a nurturing hand.
Bridget Shaheen, along with a network of volunteers and donors, has transitioned Lazarus House Ministries into a safe, emergency and transitional environment for a consistently changing population. Under Bridget’s guidance, the spiritually-oriented foundation has evolved to provide food, job training, medical assistance, dental care, counseling and a dignified fresh start for families and individuals throughout the area. Bridget says, “Poverty isn’t just one thing – it is all-encompassing. We work with individuals from start to finish, so it’s more of a community than anything. Individuals can keep their dignity.”
For the past three decades, Bridget has been actively involved in multiple charities and organizations to help people down on their luck, rehabilitate those lost in their problems and provide that much-needed helping hand. With a background in prison ministry, more than 30 years with the Cursillo Community, and more volunteer roles in the community than one can name, Bridget continues to believe in and care about nurturing the community and its individuals from the ground up. In her owns words, “We see miracles every day at Lazarus House.”
One such miracle was an eighth-grader who made a pledge to raise one thousand dollars for Lazarus House. Through bake sales and fundraisers, she accomplished her goal in one year and provided a check to the ministry. Bridget believes that it’s the spirit of those who give that boosts the mission of Lazarus House Ministries. “We see the best of both worlds here. We see the best of those who give, and we see the best of those who receive,” she says.
Today, Lazarus House Ministries houses two full-service food pantries, a soup kitchen, the three thrift stores, a free medical clinic, a transitional housing complex for families, known as Capernaum Place, and much more. Bridget says that Lazarus House Ministries thrives on the contributions of organizations and individuals who actively support the mission, especially during the holiday season.
Benefits from becoming involved in the Lazarus House mission are vast, but Bridget believes that it all boils down to one thing. “If you give back to the Lazarus House, you will leave far richer than when you came.”
