The Voice of the District | Episode 11 w. Lifebridge

In Episode 11 of The Voice of the District, we sit down with Edith Boyle, President and CEO of LifeBridge Community Services, and Tia Reid, Senior Director of Behavioral Health Services, for a meaningful conversation on the power of partnership in supporting Bridgeport students and families.

Together, they share insight into the vital role LifeBridge plays across our schools—from providing behavioral health services to addressing the growing needs of our community. This episode highlights how embedded supports, collaboration, and a shared commitment to the whole child are making a real impact in the lives of students every day.

The discussion also explores the challenges families are facing, the resources available to support them, and the importance of meeting students where they are—both inside and outside the classroom.

This conversation is a powerful reminder that when schools and community organizations work together, we can create stronger systems of support and better outcomes for every student.

Tune in to hear how this partnership continues to uplift our school community and move Bridgeport Public Schools forward.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to the Voice of the District, where we shine a light on the partnerships and the people who help uplift our students and families and school communities here in Bridgeport Public Schools. Today we're honored to welcome Edith Boyle, President and CEO of LifeBridge Community Services, and Tia Reid, Senior Director of Behavioral Health Services. Under their leadership, LifeBridge continues to deliver essential supports, strengthen whole child development, and stand alongside our district in meeting the needs of our students and families across Bridgeport. We're really excited to talk with them today about the impact, the impactful work happening in our schools, the resources LifeBridge provides to the community, and the shared mission that unites us in service of our children. So welcome to our podcast.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 0:44

Thank you to get having us. Absolutely. Excited to have you here. Hopefully, using this new podcast as a platform to inform families and to learn more about things happening in our school, but also the amazing partnerships we have in our community to support us in our work in the school district. So, Edith, let's begin with you. If you just want to introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey to CEO of LifeBridge. Sure.

SPEAKER_04 1:09

So my background is in mental health. I'm a licensed clinical social worker, which I think definitely helps with my leadership in leading an organization that provides these services. I've been with LifeBridge now for four years, April 1st will be four years. And I I intentionally made the decision to work in the community of Bridgeport. I absolutely love it. I love the people here. I love the organization. Best organization I've ever worked with.

SPEAKER_02 1:35

That's great. Well we're happy you're here.

SPEAKER_04 1:37

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 1:38

Absolutely. Tia, how about you?

SPEAKER_01 1:39

Yes, so um I have been with Life Bridge uh almost five years, and I've been in my current current role going on four years. So I have been in behavioral health operations for about 15 years. Um definitely love the city of Bridgeport. What I love most is about the partnerships and the relationships and how we all have a common goal to meet the needs of those that reside here and each other to make sure we're meeting the needs.

SPEAKER_03 2:08

Absolutely. Well, it's a fact that Life Bridge is lucky to have you, but we're also really lucky to have you. So thank you for all your work. Um so for the listeners who may be less familiar, can you just give us a little overview about Life Bridge and what it has to offer our community?

SPEAKER_04 2:22

Sure. Um LifeBridge is a nonprofit outpatient behavioral health organization. We've been serving the Bridgeport community, we're right here in Bridgeport for 175 years, and for about 35 years, we've been focused on outpatient behavioral health care. Um for those who are less familiar with that terminology, what outpatient mental and behavioral health care is, is essentially equivalent to just making a doctor's appointment to go seeing a provider for any other reason, except you might come see a counselor. And we offer talk therapy, and we also offer clinical art therapy, especially children. I think they absolutely love that modality, the ability to communicate through art versus maybe not always wanting to talk, but we serve ages six and up, so children and adults. Um we also do virtual sessions if that's a preference that folks may have. Um we take all insurance types, or I should say most insurance types, um, including Medicaid.

SPEAKER_03 3:26

Wonderful.

SPEAKER_04 3:27

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 3:28

And so what what some of our listeners and some of our community members might not know is that LifeBridge staff are embedded in our schools. And so your staff is working hand in hand, day to day, in our buildings. And so, from your perspective, um, what kind of impact have you seen through these school-based behavioral behavioral health supports? And what has that experience been like being in our schools?

SPEAKER_01 3:54

Yeah, um, I'll talk about the experience and what I see from a parent's perspective, um, from an access perspective, and then we can go into like what the outcomes look like and what does the impact truly mean. Yes. We always want to see what we're doing, is it working? And if it's not, how do we fix it? Absolutely. So, one of the biggest things I think is that we've been able to, because we're on the west side of Bridgeport and schools are all over the city, we've been able to intentionally put clinicians in the schools so that access is not a barrier. For someone to say, I need help, it's okay, we're telling them we believe you matter, but then we're saying, But you have to catch two buses to get to us, right? So we've made it more accessible to be able to be in the schools. Not only does it increase access, it um increases the continuity and collaboration. Yes. Teachers are working with those students up to seven hours a day. They know those students better than any of us, and to get their insight and input to be able to help the student really connect with a therapeutic approach is a really powerful tool to be on site in that school. So I think working with the district, you all have made it extremely seamless to be able to provide the space and access that we need to be there. That's great. Yeah, that's great.

unknown 5:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 5:18

Uh building on that, um, Tia will tell you I'm the I'm the data person, we measure everything because again, you can't you can't change what you don't measure. Right. Um I will say, as a parent, you know, sort of speaking from that parent lens, when you have a child who may be having some challenges, and whether that's engaging in school or you know, whether trying to determine if it's typical childhood behavior or teen behavior, or if this is something I need to be a little bit more concerned about, um, just knowing that a resource is available. So to Tia's point, um, we shouldn't always expect people to try to find us or come to us. Where can we go where the children are and where their families are and where they're most comfortable, and oftentimes that's in school, right? Um, so we do see kiddos with um all different types of needs and oftentimes complex needs. Um we purposely screen every child to get a sense of the degree of exposure they've had to adversity, um, levels of stress that they've been exposed to, certainly traumatic events if those have have occurred. And um and there is a high prevalence of adversity, right? Um, and so that simply tells me that the supports need to be increased, right? So that our kiddos can be successful. Um we we not only provide um social emotional learning in the three high schools, so we utilize an evidence-based curriculum in the high schools, and I always emphasize this it is age appropriate for high school students because sometimes when people hear social emotional learning, they think of small children. But the reality of it is, even as adults, we all are learning this language of how to self-regulate and how to handle stressors, right? Life stressors, and um, it doesn't stop when you're a kid, certainly into adulthood. But having um a male mentor in those classes to provide to utilize um those uh skills and to introduce those skills, uh, a huge, huge improvement. And honestly, that paired with access to the treatment, any type of mental health counseling that a kiddo may have, those things paired together, what we've seen in the past year since we've been in the school this past year, is we've seen a 43% reduction in depressive symptoms, um, depression symptoms in the kiddos that are interacting with both um the SEL and in counseling. And then across those three high schools, there's been a 34% decrease in adverse events. So expulsions, suspensions, because kids are getting what they need, they're getting the support that they need. And you know, parents can't do it alone. That is the absolute truth. Um, and we shouldn't expect parents to try to do it alone. Um we are a community and provide as much support as we possibly can, and um, we're grateful to do it. It's very rewarding, and we love working with the school district. You guys are great. Absolutely, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 8:16

I love so many things that you said. Um meeting the family where they are is so important. You know, as a former school counselor, we used to make referrals to different community-based organizations, and oftentimes you find there's not the follow-through, and that's because sometimes it can be pretty intimidating to have to show up at an organization at looking or asking or seeking some type of help or resources. But when you're there, when you're accessible, um, when you're available and and ready to do the work, I think that just makes all the difference. And then the preventative work, like you're you're handling both sides, you're in the classroom, you're getting to know the you're building the community with the with the school and the students, you're doing the preventative work, and then you're there ready to assist when they need the care.

SPEAKER_01 9:00

Yeah, and they talk about barriers, and there's data that shows you know, two of multiple barriers to um accessing behavioral health services is that alone, access. Right. How do I get there? And the fear, the unknown, or past experience. Maybe they've had therapy before, but when you're in the school and there's familiarity with the provider and who referred you, you take away some of the stigma that comes with it.

SPEAKER_03 9:24

So that's great. So you have a community event coming up.

SPEAKER_01 9:28

We too.

SPEAKER_03 9:29

And um, so tell us a little bit about the community event, uh, what families can expect, and why we should come out.

SPEAKER_04 9:36

Yeah, we purposely call this a community event because it's it's built and intended for anyone and everyone, whether you are a professional working um in a role in the community or an organization, or your general public, you're a parent, you're a caregiver, you're an aunt that just cares about your family. It doesn't really matter, but it's intended for any and all. But it's called The Courage to Understand: Nurturing a Trauma-Informed Community. And it's on April 30th at University of Bridgeport. It's intentionally um held in the evening at 5:45 because we know people work, um, and that's oftentimes best for both working professionals and families. This year's event is purposefully focused on um understanding our biology and how our bodies react and respond to stress. Because if you're a human with a beating heart, you've dealt with stress, and we all have that in common. There's varying degrees of stress and obviously circumstances that that vary by from person to person, but we all have a nervous system and um understanding how that nervous system works and how we can regulate and what tools can we use. So one thing we're big at, and I mentioned it earlier, is creative expression. We know that art, music, dance, those different types of uh creative outlets, um, they do something to your body and they help regulate stress. And and so we want to talk about that and how can we introduce those, whether it's attending a painting class in the community or learning actual wellness skills that help that you can use to help calm our nervous system, we want to share that knowledge and really learn together. It's intended to be an event that is free to the community. Um, I'll also just add um, you know, putting a plug-in for Bridgeport Public Schools. Um we have a couple of uh uh known faces that will be part of the symposium. Not only is Tia right here gonna be on a panelist, but beside Tia, um Dr. Avery, okay, interim superintendent, will is also on the panel to talk about all the great work you all are doing in this space of um helping bring on the tools and the knowledge that um educators and students and families need. But also um Principal Vernon Thompson at Harding High. Um people may or may not know, but he's not only a phenomenal principal and educator, but he's also a very talented um hip-hop artist. And so um Principal Thompson not only wrote a song but also produced a video specifically for the event that will be premiered at the event um on the topic of um grief and healing. And um, so we're really excited to feature that as well.

SPEAKER_03 12:23

That's amazing. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 12:25

Sounds like a wonderful event. Yeah, we're excited. Yeah, yes, and we have you know a large venue, so seats are not an issue at all. So we want people to bring 10 other people with them. It's something that um I think the community will enjoy. And also, what I love about it is that we're actually able to bring some national experts but also local experts and talent to really showcase the true beauty of Bridgeport and what we offer and what we do.

SPEAKER_04 12:55

There's two uh keynotes that we have. Um, Dr. Bruce Perry, who is very well known in the neuroscience space. Um wrote the book with Oprah Winfrey, What Happened to You. And then we also have Dr. Kathy Malchiotti, who's a nationally recognized art therapist, and she will also be one of our keynotes. For anyone who is interested in attending, you just go to lifebridgect.org, and there's a registration link there. You do need to register to attend so that we know you're coming, and um, all are welcome.

SPEAKER_03 13:26

Amazing. Thank you. I hope all of our families take advantage of this um space and place to learn, to you know, I always say, you know, knowledge is power. The more we know, the more we understand, the better equipped we are to handle you know the different situations that arise.

SPEAKER_04 13:43

I'll also just add, you know, something we don't think about, we think about this as an organization that practices trauma-informed um care and approaches is humans co-regulate. So if I am in a space where I'm able to be calm, it influences Tia's calm. The same is true with our stress. We we we co-regulate, and so if someone's dysregulated, others will become dysregulated. So there's something very powerful in that, right? What we can do for one another as a community simply by regul uh learning how to regulate. And so um, yeah, we're excited to share that knowledge uh with the broader community.

SPEAKER_03 14:22

Absolutely. Well, the the energy you brought to this podcast and your calmness, I've co-regulated I regulated. So thank you for so thank you for bringing that to the space. So we're gonna wrap it up. Um, is there anything that you would like to, you know, hopefully we're we're building our listener, our listeners, um, and just is there anything in closing that you would like to share to our families, to our students, uh to our community members, um, from your perspective that they might be helpful for them.

SPEAKER_04 14:52

Tia probably will have things to add as well, but I will say um, you know, our mission is all about resilience and in and in strengthening well-being, right? Yeah, and when we think about resilience, oftentimes people think that's a personality trait, like you're a resilient person, like we give it, we give it a um a label. But the reality of it is it's not a personality trait. Resilience is simply the ability to to handle and um uh manage high degrees of stress um in a way that is productive and healthy. And um so when we think about that, how do we how do we build resilience? It's actually a muscle. And we build that by building our sort of inner ability, but also the community. You have to have the strengths in the community and the supports in the community, both within your family and the people around you. That's what builds resilience. And so it's not uh it doesn't mean you're weak, it doesn't mean um you're incapable of something, it simply means that the supports need to be put in place. So asking for help is actually a sign of resilience and doesn't mean we have to do it alone, exactly. It means that we do it together. Exactly. I love that. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 16:07

Thanks for sharing that. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

Anything else to you have, Vory? No, just really echoing what Edith said, I think you know, you you Carly said that we're doing a lot in the community. Yes, and we are doing a lot. The bottom line is it's not really technical, clinical jargon to my fellow leaders that are in the community, leading teams and organizations, to the parents, to the students. Us being calm and knowing how to self-regulate shows up everywhere. It shows up with our teams, it shows up with our youth. I'm someone's daughter and I'm someone's parent. I need to regulate. So asking for help is okay. And that's the real message we want to send is no matter where you're going or how we're making access, if you don't seek the treatment, you won't be able to really find ways to regulate and help yourself. So and you know, help others.

SPEAKER_04 17:00

We should also mention quickly that um we offer uh free classes, workshops to the community called um community resiliency model. And that's the whole purpose of these three-hour workshops is you come to Life Bridge, they're held at Life Bridge for free. Again, you you use our website to sign up, but it's intended for parents, community members, employers who want to send their staff to learn all about the biology of the nervous system and the wellness skills that help us regulate. And so it's phenomenal. It's a great training. We use the skills.

SPEAKER_01 17:32

I did in every training we do, we do a lot of trainings, and I usually go to about 90% of them because we're partnering and working with the community, and I sit attentively at each one and I take away something different. Amazing and I bring it back, right? You know, and I use it. So we're all able to take advantage of these skills.

SPEAKER_03 17:49

Wonderful. Thank you for sharing that. And Edith and Tia, thank you both so much for joining us today and for the powerful work your you and your teams do every single day across Bridgeport. Your your partnership, your very obvious compassion, and your commitment to our children and families makes a tremendous difference. And to our listeners, thank you for tuning in to another episode of The Voice of the District. Stay connected with us for more stories, conversations, and highlights that showcase the incredible people and partnerships supporting our schools. So until next time, thank you both. Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 18:24

Many families are struggling to afford the essentials right now. If you're looking for a way to lower your energy bills, talk to us. We've got ways to help. We're your energy providers, UI, SCG, and CNG. Our Home Energy Solutions Income Eligible Program can help keep the warm air in. Talk to us today. Call 877 WISE Use. That's 877 W I S E U S E. Paid for by a charge on customer energy bills.