Teddy’s story “I thought many times that I was gonna break.

At 71 years old, Teddy Bridges found himself sleeping in his truck on a freezing cold night in January. He had just been kicked out of an illegal boarding house and was desperate for some help. Teddy, a man who holds himself with respect and dignity, is always well dressed,  has never been homeless and didn’t have the first idea how to get help.

After spending all his money on a $300/week motel, an old friend from Decatur High School introduced him to Greg White.  Greg White, Executive Director of A Home For Everyone in DeKalb, brought him to Frontline Response’s shelter and introduced him to everybody. They told him about all these resources that he had never heard of before.

“New Life, Threshold… I  met some wonderful people here like Mr. Terry (Executive Director of Frontline), the staff here…” said Teddy. 

Teddy is proud to have graduated from Decatur High in 1973 and was a drummer. He was an only child and never wanted for anything. “It was a new experience for me. I had nowhere to go. No family. Everything was just spiraling down. I lost my truck and everything. They picked me up just like a child and gave me support”

He started applying for subsidized senior housing and was working with his case manager at Frontline and with Shelly Fine at Threshold Ministry. “Things started getting better for me. The lord was keeping me strong. I get emotional sometimes because I didn’t know how I was going to make it.” His friends at Frontline kept supporting him through this journey. “They helped me together.”

Then something very unexpected happened: he was given a housing voucher through the Fulton County Housing Authority. 

“I got pulled from the waiting list in Fulton County in 3 months’ time. I thank God after all I’ve been through. I thought many times that I was gonna break.” After he got into his apartment, Caroline Hurst, Program Manager from AHFEID, showed up at Frontline with her truck to help him move into this apartment. Although he doesn’t have much now, she got him a referral to the Atlanta Furniture Bank. Soon he’ll be sleeping on a real bed. 

On his second night in the apartment, he found out his power was cut off.  He was told that since he didn’t have the $150 utility deposit, he was put on a program called “pay as you go” which requires you to pre-pay for the energy use. “I didn’t know what to do, so I called Caroline. She took me to the office, called the power company and got my power restored. This was all new to me since my wife was the one who always took care of the bills. I gave her the money and she paid the bills.”

Teddy worked for a home improvement company for 28 years until he hurt his back. What followed was a series of health issues. 

“I’ve had 9 major surgeries in 15 years. I have 9 screws in my body, my gallblatter taken out. “

While he was at Frontline, Terry Tucker picked him as the coordinator for the men's dorms at Frontline. He takes great pride in this and his work as a mentor. “The guys respect me. I want it to be clean, beds made up, don’t disturb people at night. We were one of the cleanest areas in the building. Whenever there are visitors or executives, he (Terry Tucker) brings them to our area. I did it because I thought if they start doing it now, it will continue. How you live here, is how you are going to live when you get your own place.” 

Even though he’s left Frontline, Terry has asked him to come back and still work with the other guys as a mentor. “I didn’t target anyone. I just show that I care and I’m concerned. I wasn’t raised in a dump and I don’t want to die in a dump.”

“From Threshold, Caroline, Shelly, Greg, Carl, Mr. Terry, just took me under their wings and saw that I needed the help. It means a lot to me. I feel truly blessed. I feel loved. I want to help others and be a role model. I had a whole team to help me. Even on my worst day, I always smiled. I get emotional but I’m always happy. There’s never a day when I don’t smile.  

My mom always told me ‘no matter how bad you’re doing, there’s something to smile about every day.’” 

He has seen that some people at Frontline have given up and he is determined to find a way to pass on the help he was given to help them to do better as well. 

“It can be done, no matter what you go through, because you’re here. It means it’s not over. Stay positive, stay motivated and thank God every day.  Shelly, Terry, the staff here, it took a team to support me as a person trying to do better.”