Darryl Strawberry will serve as the guest speaker at Bridgeport Rescue Mission's annual Restoring Hope banquet fundraiser this fall.

Executive director Larry Fullerton says a new facility for women and children on Park Avenue was close to opening soon but was put on pause during the pandemic and now needs more funding for staffing to become fully operational.

Fullerton says many clients are going through drug and alcohol recovery.

He is hoping for a big turnout at the banquet this fall since it's the first time Bridgeport Rescue Mission has had it since the beginning of the pandemic in 2019.

Fullerton says Strawberry exemplifies what the Bridgeport Rescue Mission is all about.

"It's the story of a guy who had lost it all, felt hopeless and went to a rescue mission. It helped get his life back together, " Fullerton says

Restoring Hope banquet fundraiser takes place on Oct. 18, in Westport at The Inn at Longshore. Click here for more information.