Friends in Knead
Design by Alex Povis. Photography by Judd Demaline.
On her first day at Bridge Bread, Bre walked more than 6 miles from New Life Evangelistic Center in Downtown St. Louis to the bakery on South Grand for her 7am shift. She had been homeless for more than two years, but she made it her duty to volunteer every day at New Life, no matter what.
A caseworker at the center saw how passionate Bre was about helping people and referred her to Fred Domke, co-founder of Bridge Bread.
“We talked, I had an interview and I guess I was what he was looking for because he hired me,” Bre says. “Being a woman and being homeless – it’s real hard out there. I made it through. Now I have my own place, I’m paying my bills on time, [I’m] working and I’m making it. I’m making it because of Fred and [his wife] Sharon. They were a blessing. If it weren’t for them, I don’t know where I’d be right now. I really don’t.”
“Bre came with an excellent recommendation from The Bridge Outreach [a daytime homeless center that closed in June 2016] as a hardworking volunteer,” Fred says of that first meeting. “I found her to be very eager to work hard to improve her situation. She was in pretty desperate straits but still had hope.”
Bre, who just celebrated one year at Bridge Bread last month – and her 38th birthday in September – no longer has to walk 6 miles to work. “I came in as a dishwasher, and a week later, I was rolling [bread],” she says. Within a month, Bre was trained on every station in the kitchen. The chocolate cinnamon rolls are her favorite treat to eat; she points to her apron covered in chocolate as proof.
Bre has also secured Section 8 housing and is able to send money to her daughter, a nursing student at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. Years ago, Bre herself was a nursing student, but she was unable to earn her degree after things in her life “went south.” Now, she’s planning to pursue a Certified Nursing Assistant certification, which would allow her to work in nursing homes, followed by her Registered Nurse certification.
“Hopefully – no,” she stops herself short. “I’m not going to say ‘hopefully’ because I’m going to make that my duty in the next couple of months to get started. I love this place, but I do want to move up. I want to have a career, so I’m gonna take advantage of everything I possibly can.”
Although it means they’ll lose a hardworking baker, that’s exactly what Fred and Sharon Domke want to hear.