How Bonnie Barlow Built a $20M Behavioral Health Empire From a Ten-Speed Bike

[0:16]  Welcome back to another episode here on the Hard Hustle Podcast. Our next guest says, "If not us, then who?" And that's why she kept there for 40 years. Miss Bonnie, I appreciate you. From an 18-year-old riding your 10-speed bike, because there was no ebikes back then, to now the CEO, that's not just a career, that's truly a calling. So, if we can kind of get into that story, because I I love it, and I think so many people would enjoy the story as well. What made you take the job at Bridgeway at only 18 years old?

[0:45]  Well, I had just moved to Fort Walton Beach um from Central Florida and I was 18 years old. I was looking for a job back then. We look for jobs in the newspaper. And so I circled the one that said part-time detox secretary. And I'm like, "Okay, I know about people that drink. I can handle this one." And so, um, again, 18 going to school, um, not having a lot of resources, but I did have a 10-speed bike for those I mean, that's really dating me that remember 10 speeds. and I lived about a mile and a half away. So, I just pedled down to Detox and interviewed and uh got the job at uh 18 years old. Um long time ago, but that was back in 19 um 82. So, I've been with Bridgeway ever since. And it's um I like to say I've done every job at Bridgeway except a clinician or therapy. I'm not that. I've been administrative and been a probation officer before and uh quality assurance and all of that that goes into a uh statefunded highly regulated industry and just have been blessed have been uh had the confidence of the board to lead Bridgeway now.

[2:12]  I love it. And if if we act if you go back and look at that uh girl riding her bike to work, what do you think she says to the leader you've become all these years later?

[2:21]  I think she would be um completely amazed that riding that bicycle on these sidewalks um to get to work would lead to being the CEO. I think that um she knew she had it in her at that young age but had no idea the uh path that would be taken the journey to get to this uh point in time

[2:50]  and I pretty much I can imagine early years nonprofit their scrap you know had to be scrappy had to be innovative as you mentioned I did it all because that's usually what happens when you're in this kind of space right there it's actually a good thing I love that you be in the nonprofit world that we're not just limited to the job they hired us for. No, they want your talent, whatever that may look like, right? Give it all. Um, and that's where you really get to shine. Clearly, you got to shine at a as a young girl and and look where you're at today, leading an organization. Can you tell us more about the organization you lead?

[3:22]  Yes. I will say Bridgeway Center, we will be celebrating our 60th year and um, so I've been here almost as long, but not quite. uh in n we were formed in 1966 and uh we had an we are a high military uh community and so we had a colonel's wife Kathern Barage went to Tallahassee and said listen we need some mental health money here in Okaloosa County and so we were started a little storefront office in Val Parzo and back in 1966 and so we've been around ever since But we Bridgeway Center is a community behavioral health center. We have um detox and of course mental health. We have psychiatric medicine, case management. We even have a primary care clinic that we do. And so we have about 140 employees and uh we try to provide we work very much with the homeless population and um affordable housing. Um, in fact, we're getting ready to break ground on a 72 unit lowincome for special needs affordable housing unit. Um, so we're very much involved with a community with some of the most vulnerable adults and children and families in our area. Our county is about 220,000, which is pretty small compared to a lot of the major cities in Florida. But our mantra is how can we say yes? How can we use the resources we've been given to meet the needs of our community and that is what drives us. That's my passion. Um and as a nonprofit, as you said, you you get to use talents you didn't even know existed. And you certainly get to be resourceful and creative and work with some of the most amazing people ever. I mean, it is a true calling to work in the nonprofit area.

[5:28]  I do love it. I do love it. But, you know, what you're doing is not easy work, right? you you're really trying to help someone overcome their challenges, uh, overcome adversity and and while there's there's so much work, there's integrating that care of, mental health, primary care, um, addiction, homelessness, like how do you integrate all that together to be such a gamecher for your patients? We have um a great community of uh nonprofits and support, but at Bridgeway Center, we have the philosophy there's no wrong door and the patient and the client is the most important thing.

[6:10]  So, we are able to collaborate and if a therapist is meeting with someone who needs some place to live, needs to get started on their benefits, we have those resources. is available to make sure that it is a a whole person care that it's not just treating substance use, not just treating mental health or primary care, that we are looking at all of those needs of that person and what it's going to take for them to be successful because um the uh opioid epidemic has just been horrific. Um it has changed so many families with the deaths of those experiencing the uh fentanyl overdoses. And so we want to do we're also in the prevention business of course and that is again where housing is so important because without stable housing it's very hard to get stable on your meds to work a program of recovery to um go back to school to have steady employment. So that's how we've gotten to the housing program and we just make it our mission to uh solve those needs as much as we can and with the support of our uh county commissioners, our uh our city council members and so we have a very good uh community that helps support our efforts. What did you want to do before you kind of accidentally took a job that you know was a career, right? Like this is truly purpose at a very early age. It wasn't about the paycheck for you because I can imagine that as you started to get a car and all these different things, you realize like, wait, I could do other things, you know, that make bring probably

[8:03]  more money. But this was peaceful for you. Can you kind of talk about what were you going to do before you got to this space? That's a great question. Um, I grew up um in central Florida, Pulk County, and back when I grew up was very rural, very agriculture. Um, and uh, we did not have a lot of resources. So, I started working very early at 14 years old. Um, working at a local restaurant. It was called Champs. And, um, we, uh, was flipping burgers on Friday night, Saturday night. And so I started very early working. But um from that then I started volunteering at a hospital as what we used to call Candy Striper. Um back in the day I had my little pin of four that I wore that was Candy Striper. And so working volunteering at the hospital um I wanted to be a nurse. I wanted to be an RN. That's what I thought that I would go on to be. Um but um you know you can't be squeamish with blood though to be a nurse and so but my calling um God had a different path for me uh at Bridgeway Center. So but that's what I thought I would be doing but it was not to be. So

[9:23]  you're not too far off then you're not you're still in the space as you mentioned. I'm just not dealing with the blood and I'm the same way. I'm very um like don't want to see that. So my wife was uh she gave birth and you know at some point I think they needed a doctor for me cuz I was sure going to pass out especially when they drop the placenta in that little bucket. I'm like you had to get somebody for me. But it's even like that when I um give blood I don't look I just do it. I don't want to look at it. Oh man I get nauseous. I get nauseous. Kudos to the people that do the work. It ain't me though.

[9:58]  Um

[9:59]  40 years doing this right. I can imagine you've seen so much change, some good, some bad when it comes to maybe the government, just uh technology in itself. Um where we at as as humanity, right? There's so many different um things that can affect where we at when it comes to what you're doing. But now, one of the biggest things that everyone's talking about is really AI.

[10:21]  How do you guys see AI after all these years? We have now this new technology that's really kind of helping us do more of the things that we'd love and and maybe less of the things that are more repetitive and the admin and um maybe able to even communicate better when it comes to our our patients whether that is physical communication or even just you know emails or or cell phones. What is your thoughts on AI in this space?

[10:44]  I think AI certainly has a place. It's here. It's not going away. And so our challenge is to put up some guard rails. AI is great for task replacement. It's great for doing a quality check on progress notes, treatment plans. Um, it expedites uh a lot of writing, but it will never take the place of a therapist. Um, they have tried to use AI and some chat bots um in place of, you know, the chatbot therapist will see you. Now, I'm very concerned about that because it is critical that you have a therapist that can whether it's in person or virtual that can identify what's going on with that person. As as important as what is being typed or spoke about is the body language. The therapists are trained to read the body language and if things go south, that therapist has to be able to call for help. do a welfare check. And so I think that again there's a place for AI compliance quality uh task replacement but they cannot do um therapy at this point. I know that AI can identify, you know, little cells in your body very quickly that uh other physicians may not be able to see right away. But um therapy is so much different than that. health and um psychiatry is something that when you're prescribing medications, you need to be able to get that feedback and especially some of our clients that are severely and persistently mentally ill that you can't substitute a an AI bot for a psychiatrist to deal with those that have some of the most complex and challenging issues. and and with working with addiction also um you so you've that we have to have guard rails on how we use AI in behavioral health certainly

[13:02]  yeah no 100% I I do see that and to just think that we're in this space right where teleaalth even kind of blew up what five years ago right no one

[13:13]  I I Kenan my partner was selling tellah health you know and was meeting people and he was getting all the nos it would never happen there laughing him out of the door. pandemic happened and everyone switched to tellahalth instantly and it's really the space that AI it's also brought AI to us I would say right it brought so many different things and we're all still trying to navigate this new world after the pandemic cuz technology changed I mean the way that we get our food like we no longer have to go grocery shopping we could either get delivered to the house or we could just park somewhere and they bring it to the car like technology is really advancing but as you're you're right I can never see getting away from the I love people. You know, even this like the energy would be I could imagine even greater if we were in person because the energy that someone you know someone can really give in a room. Um sometimes even tellahalth could be a challenge. But I do see that people start at tellahalth maybe and then they kind of grow into um that in person like especially for for our young kids they seem a little bit more comfortable kind of in their own room and their own space and then you see them kind of okay this is comfortable I I I would meet you in person. Is that what you're seeing now with tellahalth kind of just people navigating from tellahalth to inperson or or vice versa? People love tellaalth for the convenience of it. Um they absolutely do our patients for their u med management. They love that. Um because 15 20 minutes they're in and out. They don't have to take off work. Um people that want to have therapy though, especially family and children, they prefer the inperson. And um of course working with children we need to have uh parental consent and uh make sure the parents are all on the same page with that. So it's definitely has a place. We've seen it go both ways. Some people love um therapy through tellalth through I mean you've seen that advertised on TV. Uh but for our folks, we're finding they like that individual personal attention with that therapist um in the office uh because it can be very frightening to start therapy. Takes courage to start therapy to say, "I have an issue." And so you need that encouragement from your therapist and also to make sure that you guys are meeting your therapeutic goals. and um that they are there. So again it definitely has its place. Um that's one thing CO did was uh get us all on tellaalth and also I would say that co um helped reduce the stigma of depression and anxiety. uh that that is not um something that nobody talks about anymore that we do talk about that

[16:13]  but you know we're social creatures so we need to socialize we need to be with each other and loneliness is becoming an epidemic now um because a lot of folks just stay online I mean they do all of their conversations and their friends are online

[16:33]  they don't have a 10-speed bike to be riding around, you know what I mean? Like they don't believe in those things no more, buddy. Nobody had a 10 speed bike.

[16:42]  People I I'm seeing, as you mentioned, being lonely is kind of where we're at now, right? People are facing loneliness. Um, and even recently, I have I have a friend that, you know, uh, divorce man, you know, just by himself, and all he does is work. So, yesterday he mentions to me, he's like, "Hey, I don't know, Ephra. I don't even know if this is what I want to do anymore. Like, should I I'm just stuck. Should I go see a therapist? Should I go do this? And he just starts to name all these different things. And I'm like, this man has been in this this space of electrician for years now, maybe 20 plus years. And I'm like, you just got to find something that makes you happy, you know, like start to volunteer. And I always tell people, volunteer at a nonprofit. You just never know. That could be what it actually helps you. But I also feel from his sake it was um because he's always complaining about a certain employee and I'm like well sometimes that employee is what's causing you the stress and the anxiety and making you feel some type of way and I feel that we have to invest into our people. I bring that all back to say that we have to invest in those people that are actually working for us. So I said hey man if you're feeling someone's a problem you have to invest that time whatever that may look like. What are you guys doing, Bonnie, to make sure that you invest into the people that work for you to to um because it really especially those people on the front line, it matters most that they are at 100%. Because that way they can give to the clients 100%. To the patients 100%. What is your thoughts on that? My thoughts are that in this field and in any field, people need to feel that they are valued, that they are appreciated, that they do have a voice, and that that's why we say to our supervisors, you need to meet with your folks one on- one. It's great to have staff meetings, but you need to meet with them one on- one. Um, employee recognition is huge, but a personalized thank you goes a long way. We also talk about self-care and balancing and boundaries and flexibility is huge. That's people need because

[18:51]  you used to say leave your home life at home and leave your work life at work, but that's impossible. We're one person and so we're going to bring those together. And so it's very important that people ha know that they don't have to choose one or the other that there is that flexibility and part of that is just talking with them and understanding where they're at and what's going on with them. But again, self-care for our therapist, we encourage them to take their PTO and professional development. uh they want to they're lifelong learners. They want to know how they can help people more. But again, it starts at the top and so um I do my part on recognition, but what really matters is when a supervisor goes to that person and say, you know, you did a great job. I saw, I heard, I appreciate what you did. uh makes such a difference because we all need that affirmation that um what we do matters. And people that get in the nonprofit world, they get into it for the mission. They they get it so that they know that it matters that they show up, that they have the potential to impact somebody's life for the rest of their lives. And so appreciation and affirmation goes a long ways with that. If the Heart and Hustle podcast has ever sparked any idea or made you think differently, do us a favor. Make sure to guys share this, post it on LinkedIn, or even text that nonprofit friend that you just have. Whatever works. This is what keeps the conversation going and allows us to just grow this community together. Seriously, we appreciate you. How about to the comment because I'm pretty sure a lot of people hear this of him saying, "Should I seek therapy?" Right? A lot of people do. think automatically when someone says that it's a yes it's a no-brainer that's what they should do or was he just saying it you know because I I think sometimes people say things in talking and those are red flags that we got to think of what is your thoughts on when someone says that

[20:59]  when someone asks if they should seek therapy that means they've already thought about it for a while that's not something people just say off the cuff generally and one thing about therapy it will help your friend clarify okay what what's going on because a divorce is a traumatic experience. It is in a lot of ways it can be more difficult than a death because you never really get that closure in a lot of ways. And so he's got a lot going on. So I think you have to look at the totality of the situation and while he may be disgruntled or not happy with his employment, he has just gone through a major life change. And so I think that encouraging them to, you know, doesn't sound like a bad idea. I think they could probably help clarify what's going on, what you've been through. Um, and uh, so it's never a bad idea. I would never discount it because takes a lot for folks to say, "Do you think I should see a therapist?" Generally, there's something else going on there that they thought about. I tell you what, Bonnie, I I love that people even say that often, like Chelsea's therapist or she speaks to a therapist because it wasn't something as we grew up. I mean, I'm 35 years old. My mom wasn't talking about therapy when I was really going through the sexual abuse and the adoption. I mean, the sexual abuse she didn't even know was happening, right? But there were so many different things and probably red flags of me showing out in school and all these different things that should have kind of triggered someone to say there's a problem here. But no one was thinking like that now, right? But now, I mean, chatbt, we can put in our symptoms or how we're feeling. it automatically tells us you should see a therapist or something. So, I think we're in a in a good place. I also want you to talk about because I've seen this recently is um I seen a mother that raised her kids, three kids, grandmother now, but um now she's she's having, you know, addiction problems and she's fighting her kids and, you know, not really sure exactly the extent of it, but I was seeing this cuz this individual was posting these photos and about her life online and it was just sad to see because I knew who the mom was and to know that this is where she's at. It happens. It could hit us at any age. Is that correct, Bonnie?

[23:13]  Absolutely. And it can start off very innocently with um going through a surgery and having some pain meds appropriately advised uh prescribed for you. And uh where you and I may not have any problem with a a 10day uh supply, it may have affected her very differently. Um, also it could be that um she is um overwhelmed or she's having a major life transition and in our society it's very acceptable to use alcohol um to uh manage those emotions or those changes. And sometimes someone could say, "Okay, you need to have try this Xanax that that'll make you feel better. It'll relax you." And so things can easily escalate at any age. And so it's always important to understand um that there's no judgment because it it could happen to anyone. And at an age is not usually um usually it's younger, but it it could be where she's at now. But it is to not judge her but offer her support and make sure she knows where the resources are that when she is ready to get help um that she will be able to go and get that and they know they know exactly what's happening there. There's a lot of defensiveness and and denial and minimizing but deep down inside she knows. And so just being that support with boundaries, appro appropriate boundaries. Um but the main thing is that uh she needs to get help just like any other disease that she might be incurring.

[25:07]  Yeah. No, when I seen that it was very sad, but like you you know kind of

[25:11]  just realizing that it it doesn't um doesn't matter the age, right? It doesn't matter the skin color, doesn't matter your sex. like when it happens, it happens. And and we have to have be really good support systems to those that are going through it, right? Because we don't know what that actually feels like. I always say my my mom to this day is still into drugs. And I don't I don't know what she's going through mentally. Just one day I hope that she finds the resources we're talking about, hears that conversation. I'm a big believer um Bonnie that someone would take something from here that we say today and it would change their life and we would never even know. So that's why I love to have these conversations. Um, so I appreciate you kind of sharing that insight on what it looks like and to allow people to know it doesn't matter who you are, where you're at, it could happen to you. And it's like even homelessness, right? Even homelessness can happen to any single body. You know, we we sit here and we judge the person that's, you know, on the corner today, but tomorrow could be us. So I uh go ahead. You want to say something? I was going to say that with uh addiction there's so often um childhood abuse issues and trauma that has never been dealt with. Um and so a lot of the addiction starts off as self-medication. And with homelessness, so many people are just one paycheck away from um being homeless. And if you have a major life event that happens, your car breaks down, you have a medical bill, you can't get to work for a few days, um, that can send you completely into that spiral. But again, most people, you give them a little bit of help, a little bit of support for 90 days, get them back on their feet, and they're ready to go. So there are some who choose that lifestyle, but most people it's not a choice to be homeless. And just uh helping them help themselves can make such a huge difference in someone's life. That's why you need all of the services, not just to fix the housing, but if there's an addiction issue, if there's a mental health issue, a case manager, social worker, just to look at all of those issues going on. Um because it's kind of like squeezing a fire hose. You fix this issue and you squeeze it and then something else happens. So

[27:32]  yeah.

[27:32]  Um it's important to look at the whole person and

[27:36]  and talking about you know trying to patch something else happens. I'm pretty sure over the time that you've been doing this uh with this nonprofit you see decades of change and right now we're in this shift of funding cycles. Um I can imagine you've seen workforce changes but what's secret to resilience? you've had to overcome a lot in the time that you've been sitting at the uh at this organization.

[27:57]  Well, I think resilience comes with are you doing what you feel that you have been called to do? Is this your mission and your purpose? And for me at Bridgeway Center, um the my motivation comes from our clients. Um what if we weren't here? what would happen to them if we did not have the care and compassion for them? Who would? And so the resilience come from, you know what, we have overcome harder things, we're going to get through this, too, because we are a team. And I'm a firm believer that if you do the right thing, the funding and the money will come. people will get behind you once they see those results and they know that you are a good steward over those dollars. And so I can't imagine doing anything else at this point. Um because this is this has been my life's mission. And so the resilience is your team, your family, your prayers for sure. And just knowing that you're not going to give up. I I call it grit. We're not giving up. We haven't come this far to go back now. So, they need us.

[29:17]  We had a lot of grit, right? Decades of doing the work. Sometimes when stretched too thin, you'll still show up and and make it happen. I can imagine you've also had to deal with some tough situations. Do you remember the one of the toughest situations that you had to lead through and how you had to adapt?

[29:33]  Well, of course, CO was just because I you know, you were in Florida in 2020. I mean, it was just a flip of a switch.

[29:43]  One day, everything was being shut down and we're an essential service, so we couldn't work from home. And so, it was leading and everything was changing. If you if you remember the um we would depend on the health department to tell us what to do and and with that and it it was just changing constantly. But leading through, we still got to get services. We still got to check on our people. We still got to make sure they have food. We still have to make sure that they are not isolating because again, isolation is one of the worst things in the world. Um, we got to make sure our victims of uh domestic violence and child abuse are okay. And so, how do we do that? And so, we got very creative. I mean, we would uh go to somebody's house and talk to them while they're on the porch and we're on the sidewalk. Um, we had lots of cell phone conversations uh with uh someone, one thing I remember is someone's cell phone was about to die, so our therapist hooked it up and they were outside through the window having their therapy session. So, uh, we just had, um, so that was challenging because the people still needed us. We still had to get people their medications and their, um, case management. And so, that was one of the hardest things because nobody had prepared me for a pandemic at all.

[31:21]  Yeah. And then as you mentioned Florida, everyone was kind of laughing at us too cuz even though we were getting, you know, what to do and what not to do, Florida was still doing their own thing compared to others to say. So

[31:33]  yeah. Yeah, we definitely had to find creative ways and I'm glad that you were able to pivot, right? Like that's and that's what a leader is. A leader is someone that's going to pivot during the hard times and um sometimes inside we're probably running crazy in our heads like, "Oh my god, this is happening." But as a leader, you still got to be planted, be grounded, uh, you know, resilient and and lead your team through it. And it seems like obviously you let the team through it. Here we are today. And I can imagine you could still pouring into those those young and the next generation, right? Those young leaders and next generations. What do you what do you look for when developing the next generation of nonprofit leaders? I think that um we're very fortunate because what I'm finding people getting out of college now, they are not looking for that paycheck necessarily. They're looking for purpose and they want to know, okay, what is the purpose of the organization and how do I fit in with that? Do your values um mesh with mine? Are we on the same page? and what h what kind of corporate responsibility do you have to the environment to the community and so that's what the uh newly graduated college students are looking for which is fabulous um I will say that they are um very um but they've been with AI they've been with a computer their whole lives they've never not known anything because they've been able Google it. And so they're very anxious and sometimes um wants things to happen a little too fast. And so I think that what you're looking for is that people are resistant to change. That's just the way we're made. And so being a a a change agent, whether in therapy or doing case management or whatever, people want to know the why. And they and you've got to take time to do that. And so with the nonprofit leadership, it's all about servant leadership. You are here to serve your team. It's not even about you. You're not successful unless your team is successful, unless your clients are being served. And so that is what I look for is that uh you can see the greater purpose, the greater good. Again, the clients and the patients come first. It it's not even about you.

[34:07]  You talked about our young leaders just knowing AI and, you know, newer technology. They would never know what this is,

[34:15]  right? They would never know what this floppy disc does. They'll look at you like, "What is that?"

[34:22]  Exactly.

[34:22]  I I was pulling out a I was looking, you know, I kind of keep memories and I don't even know what's really on that. It probably since elementary days. I'm not going to lie to you, Bonnie. So, I can imagine it was just some maybe PowerPoint or something. But to think about, yeah, we've we've had to really go through a lot. I mean, the beginning of internet, the beginning of social media, the beginning of a flip phone. Remember when phones used to flip, you know, or when the keys used to actually be on the phone, now they're just all in the screen. Like, it it it is crazy. And I I think there is one of those, as you mentioned, kind of um adapting to change really on both sides. Really, really for for those that don't understand technology and AI, because I see sometimes pulling back. I actually heard this before is that as a millennial myself, we are the individuals that are holding the Gen Z's and the Gen X's together, right? Trying to say, "Hey, we need each other." Um because there's no people don't want to learn AI and new technology and people don't want to learn what people were doing 10 years ago because for them it's instant gratification because they have a chatpc, they have a Amazon, they have all these cool functions now where they just get at the fingertips and they expect that's what life is. Um, and that's how leadership is. And it's not. You have to still put in the work. You know, I know your worth for sure. Understand your value, but it's still putting in the work. Um, I did want to ask what leadership philosophy still anchors you after all these years of of being a leader?

[35:47]  I think that, um, I had spoken about it. It is servant leadership. Um, you have to look at your staff. I have 140 people at Bridgeway, which is a medium-siz corporation, but my decisions can impact them and their families and their children. And so that weighs heavy on me. So I think that knowing your scope of your responsibility um is key, but also knowing where you need to engage and where you need to pull back. Um, nobody likes a micromanager for sure. And so if you hire people, you need to trust them to do that job and let them know that you're there. They have questions, that you're supportive of them, but you trust them. And so I always make it a practice to hire people smarter than me. That has served me well that I have everybody in the room is smarter than I am and in their area of expertise. And so that philosophy has uh served me well. Like I said, but just uh making sure that people feel valued and appreciated and that you know if something needs to be done and you see that that uh floor needs to be cleaned or that paper picked up, do it. You have to set the example. People watch you. They listen to you and what you allow is allowed across the organization. what you don't say is okay is a part of our culture then that works that way as well. So you just have to be mindful every day of what you say and what you allow and and uh how you present yourself. Um I say every day is unbelievable whether that's a good day or a bad day. It's been unbelievable. Yeah. Yeah. I love that. And and I love that you mentioned no matter where you're at on the totem pole, you should be comfortable doing any position. Um because that shows again true leadership and clearly that's why you've been in these roles of leadership for so long because you you get it. And um I ask you as we start to wrap these things up, I mean with four decades just serving this mission, what's the call to action you want to leave us with here today? that um people with mental illness, people that are homeless, people with addiction are people. That there is no moral decline in them. There is not less worthy of our attention, our care, our concern. That we all have family members or neighbors or somebody that we know have suffered with these um special needs. Um, and so I would say be gracious to them. Um, try to understand where they're at and help them get the resources that they need. Um, don't pass judgment on them that they need help. They don't always want it and they are very hard to serve sometimes, but you don't give up on people. Um, where there's breath, there's life and hope. And so that is what I would say that there are a lot of resources for folks um regardless if it's the faith-based community is tremendous with the work that they've done in this arena. Um so just um if you can just have compassion for those that are so vulnerable in our um community right now. That's what I was

[39:27]  I appreciate that Bonnie. And where could people find you? Are you guys on social media? Where can people find?

[39:32]  We are at bridgewaycenter.org. Um, we have a Facebook. We have a website. So, yes, you can see it both places.

[39:41]  And how about you? Are you active on LinkedIn? If someone wanted to just pick your brain.

[39:45]  Yeah, I'm on LinkedIn as well. Yeah.

[39:48]  All right. Perfect. Yeah. You know, got to get all those social medias out. There's so many of them. We got to make sure we cover them all. They just keep adding them. You know, we got Tik Tok. Are you on Tik Tok? No, I'm not because I have to say because I was just spending too much time on Tik Tok. I had to detox myself off of off of Tik Tok. So, you know, you got to know your weaknesses as well as Tik Tok does that to you. You just start and then you know what what they do nowadays, you hit back trying to get out of it and like you had you have to hit back three times now to actually get out of the app because it would just keep you stuck in the loop. So yeah, for sure you definitely have to understand the boundaries there or if it's something that's kind of hindering your your work. Yeah, you got to stop that. So I love that you noticed that. I asked you this blind question. So it's time to get into the hot seat, the blind question time.

[40:34]  Okay.

[40:34]  When you finally step away from Bridgeway and someone asks you what kind of leader you were, what do you hope they're actually going to say? I hope that they will say that I was a leader that was touched by our clients and our patients and that I was genuine and sincere in what I did. I was purposeful in what I did and that I set the example for everyone else.

[41:02]  Well, you hope they say that. I'm pretty sure they're going to say that. All right, Bonnie. Just talking to you today, I'm pretty sure those words come out of their mouth. Um, what is your blind question to the next leader we have here on the Heart and Hustle?

[41:12]  What are you going to do for Bridgeway? How are you going to take this foundation that's been laid and just make it bigger and better than ever? What are you going to do? How are you going to make it the next generation coming up?

[41:25]  I love it. I don't know why. Um, there was two things that you did during this podcast that gave me Hulk Hogan vibes. Um, and I think one was uh pray, right? Because he always talking about eat your vitamins and pray, brother. There was just something else that you just mentioned. Rest in peace to Hulk Hogan for sure. Um I love it. Bonnie, thank you so much for the time of taking this time to have this conversation with me today and just give us some more insight into this world. We all, as you mentioned, we all experience it somehow some way, whether it's friends, families, um people that maybe we work with that encounter some of these things as well. And we have to understand, as you mentioned, have compassion. Uh remembering that these are humans, right? humanity first. I think sometimes we forget that and that those people that's who they are today doesn't mean that it has to be who they are tomorrow, right? Their lives can change if we just give them that help. So, I love everything you mentioned today. Thank you guys for everybody that's still been watching. Make sure that you guys do like, subscribe, comment. But if you're also realizing that there's a family in need, there's so many organizations like this one that is is here in your backyards and willing to help. You guys just got to reach out. Um, so thank you, Bonnie. Thank you guys watching. My name is Ephrain. This has been Bonnie Barlo. And we'll catch you on the next one.

[42:40]  Yes. Thank you.