Doris & Dave Jasperson
- Our Local
- Our Reach
- Our Self
Doris and Dave Jasperson serve in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, a city of 8,500 which serves as the shopping, industrial, educational, and medical hub for the surrounding rural communities.
The Gap is a place of learning, accountability, and support for addicts who are ready to turn their lives around. This restored home in a residential neighborhood opened up in July 2016 as an answer to the need for relational and spiritual support for those coming out of county jail who wanted their lives to be different, but were finding themselves back with the wrong people and in the wrong places.
The Bridge is short-term affordable housing for men coming out of incarceration who need accountability and a sober, supportive place to live. These men have “burned bridges” because of repeated poor choices, leaving little hope for finding sober housing since few, if any, landlords will rent to those with criminal histories--and understandably so. The Bridge is home to Dave and Doris as well as a second chance for those in recovery to have a safe, sober, supportive place to live and earn a positive letter of reference for a future landlord.
Whatever the addiction – meth, heroin, marijuana, opioids, gambling, alcohol, or pornography – there is a person behind it with a story of pain, brokenness, and shame. Hopelessness reigns in the life of an addict. For those who want things to be different, the road to recovery when taken alone is filled with disappointments and repeated failures.
God wants to heal the broken and bring hope and strength to the weak. He is using Doris and Dave in the lives of those in recovery to introduce them to Himself and bring those who have lost their way back to Him.
In addition to Christ-centered 12-Step groups that meet throughout the week at The Gap, Doris and Dave run ReGroup, a support group for those in need of supportive, healthy relationships. There in the home-like atmosphere of The Gap, a family-style meal is served followed by a video/Bible study/discussion.
Doris teaches court-ordered classes and supplies emotional and spiritual support to individuals, through mentoring and short-term counseling (face-to-face or via texting), Doris encourages, challenges, prays with, and loves people as they work to grow in their relationship with God and pursue a clean, sober, and hope-filled life.
The Jaspersons receive referrals from the courts, probation, Health & Human Services, churches and social media as well as word-of-mouth.
The Jaspersons have served as InFaith field staff since 2016.
Doris was a registered nurse for twenty-five years before returning to school to study Christian counseling. She has worked with low- to high-risk offenders since 2012 doing victim-offender conferencing and teaching a cognitive-based curriculum. For many years Dave owned his own business, Property Care & Repair, maintaining and repairing seniors’ homes and properties.
In 2015, when Dave and Doris took on the task of renovating a badly damaged old house, they realized they were being called to turn this restored house into a place of restoration for those in the community. Having worked with those involved in the justice system since 2012, Doris recognized a large gap in services for the emotional and spiritual needs of those trying to turn their lives around. The Jaspersons named this place of education and ministry The Gap.
Doris explains, "God has given me the passion to teach and care for individuals involved in the justice system who want a better life and are willing to make changes to make that happen. By developing relationships and giving them tools, we motivate and encourage them to make positive changes, as well as repairing and restoring broken relationships. It is a privilege and a joy to introduce them to God's kindness, mercy, and grace in the process."
