History Bridge The Gap, Inc.
Serving Jacksonville Since 1982
Bridge The Gap, Inc. was founded on January 19, 1982, by Catherine Heath McNeil. What started as a simple act of care grew into a community organization built to serve seniors, individuals with disabilities, families, and neighbors who needed support.
At the time, Catherine served as the manager of the Moncrief Broad Terrace Community Center. As seniors came into the center, she began to notice something that stayed on her heart. Some seniors sat alone. Some needed help getting to the grocery store. Others had to pay someone just to take them where they needed to go.
As she built trust with the seniors, they began to share more of what they were facing. Many needed personal care items. Some needed laundry supplies. Some needed transportation. Others needed basic household items, clothing, food, and someone they could trust to stand with them.
Catherine was a missionary and a woman who loved people. As she prayed about what she was seeing, she received the vision for Bridge The Gap. The vision was simple but powerful. Volunteers stood on one side. Seniors stood on the other side. Bridge The Gap would become the bridge connecting caring people to seniors and families who needed help.
From the beginning, Bridge The Gap was born out of real need. The organization was created to serve seniors and people with disabilities first. As the work grew, the need grew with it. Many of the seniors being served were also helping raise children in their homes. Because of that, Bridge The Gap expanded its reach to serve families and the broader community as well.
One of the first major areas of service was food support. Bridge The Gap began working with food resources, including the Food Bank on Jessie Street and Farm Share. Food distribution became a key part of the organization’s work, but Catherine quickly saw that people needed more than food. Seniors also needed deodorant, toilet tissue, dental care products, clothing, laundry supplies, and other daily essentials.
Bridge The Gap also became a trusted voice between seniors and their doctors. Many seniors would share their real health concerns with Catherine, but when they got in front of a doctor, they would say everything was fine. Because they trusted her, Catherine was often able to help communicate what was really going on so seniors could receive better care.
Transportation also became part of the work. When Catherine and volunteers picked seniors up from their homes, they sometimes saw unsafe or unclean living conditions. Instead of ignoring what they saw, they responded. Volunteers helped clean homes, support homebound seniors, and connect people to the care they needed. In one situation, Catherine and her children went into the home of a bedridden senior, cleaned the home, and helped that senior receive needed care.
Out of that same need came the Homebound Delivery Service. Some seniors could not leave their homes. Some had no family nearby. Bridge The Gap began partnering with faith based organizations across Jacksonville to deliver food, supplies, and support directly to those who were homebound.
Catherine also started the Adopt a Grandparent program. This program supported seniors who had moved to Jacksonville from other cities and had no family nearby. Volunteers stepped in to show care during birthdays, holidays, and other special moments, making sure seniors knew they were not forgotten.
Bridge The Gap also extended support to military families. When service members were away and their families were left with limited support, the organization looked for ways to help meet those needs as well.
Over the years, Bridge The Gap became known for programs and events that brought people together. The Walk for Wellness was one of those efforts. The first walk began downtown and ended at Friendship Park, where
participants were welcomed with food, fellowship, and community support. The city partnered with the organization to help transport seniors, including those using walkers and wheelchairs, so they could take part in the event.
Each year, Bridge The Gap also helped create holiday moments for seniors and families. During the holiday season, seniors and grandparents were able to enjoy a meal, receive groceries to take home, and see children receive gifts through programs connected to Toys for Tots. For those who were homebound, meals were prepared and delivered to their homes.
Another meaningful community event was Law Enforcement Appreciation Day at Brentwood Park. First responders, the fire department, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, seniors from community centers, families, and community members came together for a day of appreciation, connection, and fellowship.
From the beginning, Bridge The Gap has been driven by love, compassion, and the belief that no senior, no family, and no person in need should be left alone. The organization’s name tells the story. Bridge The Gap exists to stand between hardship and help, between isolation and community, between need and support.
More than four decades later, that same spirit continues. Bridge The Gap remains rooted in Jacksonville, serving with dignity, compassion, and purpose. What began with one woman noticing the needs of seniors has grown into a trusted community organization that continues to meet people where they are and help them move toward hope.
561 W 25th Street Jacksonville,FL 32206
Phone: 1-904-799-5406
Bridgethegapjax.org