Ronald Jackson, an inventory specialist at Bridgeway Community Health, credits Tim Murphy, the organization’s CEO, with saving his life. After being in and out of Bridgeway’s sobering station 50 times in 2009, Jackson graduated from its recovery program in January 2010. He recently celebrated 15 years sober. When Jackson went to court for 10 drinking in public tickets, Murphy was his character witness. When Jackson needed a job, Murphy, and Bridgeway, had one for him. When Jackson was baptized, Murphy was there.  “He’s helped me through thick and thin,” Jackson said. “He’s the father that I didn’t have.”  As CEO of one of the largest addiction treatment providers between Portland and Eugene, Murphy has taken the organization from having no beds and low-quality food to operating almost a dozen buildings and serving thousands of people annually.  After 16 years at Bridgeway, Murphy will retire as CEO on Jan. 15. Under Murphy’s leadership, the organization grew from seeing 400 people annually to over 6,000. Based on early numbers, Murphy said he estimates Bridgeway to care for around 8,000 people in the current budget year.  Some of Bridgeway’s clients later get hired at the organization, Murphy said. For 32 years, Murphy has worked in Oregon’s behavioral health community in different roles. Well-known for his leadership of Bridgeway, Murphy also worked at Salem Hospital, Liberty House and a recovery organization in Hawaii, where he was CEO.  While at Salem Hospital, Murphy worked in child and family therapy before switching to adult behavioral health. That is where he started encountering addiction. Murphy said he also has relatives affected by addiction.  When the offer for a job at Bridgeway, he said it felt like the right direction for him based on his experience as a therapist in trauma-informed care. The original agreement was for Murphy to lead the organization for three to six months.  “Boom, it’s been 16 years,” he said.  With his career in mental health and addiction, Murphy wanted to help grow Salem’s recovery network and increase visibility of services. Murphy’s also wanted to increase accessibility for recovery and reduce stigma around addiction and treatment. “I had a mantra that, going to treatment, I want to make it as normal as going to the dentist,” Murphy said.  Currently, Bridgeway offers medical detox services, residential programs for gambling and substance use and counseling for various mental health conditions. Tim Murphy, CEO of Bridgeway Community Health, speaks at a Salem City Council meeting on July 10, 2023. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter) Bridgeway’s early years In the mid to late 2000s, Murphy sat on the Marion County Health Council with Patrick Vance, a former program director at Silverton Hospital. After Marion County’s health department asked Murphy to start Bridgeway, he asked Vance to put a board together, Vance said. Soon after their conversation, Vance said, he and Murphy met with several people, including law enforcement officials and an attorney, at a local Applebee’s to brainstorm principles and purpose.  Bridgeway started deep in debt with a $500,000 loan, which Murphy said he mistakenly thought was a grant. The board got to work on keeping clear records and improving money management.  Bridgeway began providing services in 2009 with one building on Harold Drive, two detox beds and 40 employees. Bridgeway still has that site among its 10 locations and now has 32 detox beds and 165 employees.  Vance, the chair of Bridgeway’s board, said Murphy’s mindset has always been, “Wait a minute, things can be better.” From their careers in mental health and addiction, Murphy and Vance knew the importance of understanding trauma’s role in substance use. Murphy said he wanted Bridgeway staff to be able to recognize that clients may have unresolved trauma to address along with recovery. Stigma reduction and community Earlier in his career, Murphy said he’d worked in coercive environments that tried to control how clients recovered. Those experiences motivated Murphy to make Bridgeway available for anyone at any time, and have staff help clients design their recovery to fit their life, instead of making clients conform to Bridgeway.  “In the old days, we used to say things like, ‘Well, we have to wait till people bottom out before they can actually get treatment,’” Murphy said. “A lot of people that are struggling with addiction or mental illness are very aware that that’s interfering with their life. They don’t need to wait ‘til they’ve lost everything.” With celebrities and others being open about addiction and recovery, Murphy said he’s seen stigma slowly decrease, especially with the help of more community partners and visibility of services. Events like Run For Recovery, which Bridgeway has sponsored for the last 11 years, brings the community together to talk and care about recovery.  Dan Clem, CEO of Union Gospel Mission, said Murphy reminded him of how connected the treatment services are around Salem.  In March 2023, Clem was at one of his organization’s graduation ceremonies for people who completed its housing and recovery program. Looking out at the crowd, Clem spotted Murphy. The two CEOs knew each other through coordinating services over the years, but Murphy’s presence shocked Clem and made him “tremendously overjoyed,” he said.  “I think it was God nudging me, that we’re not alone,” Clem said.  Many people in Salem’s recovery community know Murphy and have stories like Clem’s about how he’s not the typical CEO. People describe him as someone who shows up for every client he can.  Murphy visits Bridgeway’s four residential homes every couple of months to note changes and observe a group session. He believes it’s important for clients and staff to see him visiting the homes and listen to their stories and feedback.  The relationship between clients and treatment has changed dramatically over Murphy’s career, he said, especially in how much clients trust recovery programs. “Go back 20 years, if you went to residential treatment, clients would be very reluctant to talk to you because they’re afraid you’re going to rat them out to their PO,” Murphy said.  Clients might fear they’ll say the wrong thing and be punished or kicked out of the program, he said.  Bridgeway works differently. People who’ve worked with Bridgeway say the organization takes chances on people and lets clients leave and come back as many times as they need during recovery.  Murphy’s impact Marion County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Anna Jefferson joined Bridgeway’s board in 2022, her first time serving on a board. She remembers sitting in her first meetings quietly, until Murphy asked for her opinions on the issue at hand.  “Even though he was the CEO of Bridgeway, he never made me feel less than him … he was just Tim,” Jefferson said.  Jefferson, who has referred her parole clients to Bridgeway since 2009, has witnessed the care and passion of the staff.  Murphy stepping down will be a big loss, Jefferson said, but she believes whoever becomes the new CEO will inherit a great company. In her eyes, Bridgeway is not just an agency, but a pillar in Salem and Marion County’s community affecting everybody in the area.  Even though Murphy is retiring as CEO, he’s staying on as president of Bridgeway Community Foundation, which raises money for  Bridgeway’s services.  Outside of work, Murphy owns a vineyard, Muddy Paws Vineyard, which is part of a group of wineries in Eola-Amity Hills west of Salem.  The board has been interviewing candidates for CEO and expects to announce the new CEO soon. Board members said Murphy is hard to replace because of his rare combination of traits for a CEO, such as his curiosity, accountability and honesty.  “I wish I knew more people like him,” Vance said.  Murphy said he’s ready to step down because Bridgeway is well positioned for a leadership change. He also said he’s accomplished most of his personal and professional goals during his 35 years working in the mental health field.  “I am proud of what Bridgeway does,” Murphy said. “I’m proud of what we’ve built, and I’m extremely proud of the clients that come to (receive) service because I know how hard it is to do that.” Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected]. A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE. The post Bridgeway CEO to retire after 16 years helping thousands recover, find housing and jobs appeared first on Salem Reporter.