The Heart Behind The Bridge Part 1 of 3

https://youtu.be/BeZic4VUR08

Matt Darrah (00:01.183)

Hello and welcome to All Things Foster, a place for coffee, connection, and community. Guys, we are launching a three-part series on The Bridge today. And so I've got some some ladies that are here that are gonna share kind of the heartbeat behind The Bridge and how it all works and all those things. but before we get to that, our episode sponsor this week is Kindred Construction. And so they say if you've got a stone-coated steel roof, Kindred would like

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Yeah. We're excited. Absolutely. So so before we kind of dig into The Bridge and all the things, kinda give me a little bit of background about your yourselves. Courtney, we'll start with you. Tell me a little bit about who you are and and what you do. Perfect. So I am born and raised in the Panhandle I was born in Pampa, moved to Borger, moved back to Pampa, which could be controversial in some circles. but I grew up in Pampa after that.

and went to WT and pursued my bachelor's in science and psychology. And I graduated from WT in two thousand seventeen. And then I graduated college with no idea what I wanted to do when I grow up. Which honestly still true. But I my brother in law and for told me about The Bridge and I had no idea what it was. But I did an internship there just to kind of see what it was like and what being a an adult in the real world would be like and

Matt Darrah (02:27.022)

what things made me feel excited. And so after that internship, I feel like it just blew my mind a little bit. I didn't know what child abuse looked like in our community and what people and places were there to try to intervene and try to help and try to educate. And I was just in love with it. But then I so that was in 2017. And in 2018 I applied for a job there and got a job.

And ever since then I just feel like my passion for child abuse and educating professionals and helping children and families has just grown exponentially. Yeah. but then my passion maybe burned out a little bit. And in twenty twenty two I left The Bridge to go work at Canyon ISD and loved my job there, loved the people there. But then I came back to The Bridge in twenty twenty four because nothing really filled my cup like what I get to do at The Bridge and the role we play in a child and family's life.

throughout an investigation. And so I came back and I love it. And now I'm the forensic services supervisor. And so I supervise a lot of our direct service staff, our forensic interviewers. We do community education with the public. I supervise that program and facilitate those kinds of trainings. And I still do forensic interviews. Yeah. Wow. Well that's that's crazy. I'm I'm I'm

Blessed by the role that you fill. It's it's a tough it's a tough role, I'm sure. And so I'm glad that that you kind of found your way to where you're at and it's good. Yeah. So Leslie, tell me about you. Yeah. So I was born and raised in Amarillo and didn't move away. been here ever since. but actually I guess that's a lie. I went to U T in Austin originally. but

a couple of things didn't work out and so I went to WT and I was able to graduate with my social work degree and I just fell in love with my internship that I was able to have the opportunity to be an intern at The Bridge for my last semester. And then after that, the day after I graduated, I think they called me and offered me the position that opened up. it wasn't a family advocate position, but it was something that

Matt Darrah (04:46.563)

was able to get me in the door and just be overall interested with working with the agency. and then was doing that for a couple of years. And throughout that I was able to do family advocacy. primarily Spanish speaking families because I was one of the only Spanish speakers at the time. And fell in love with what that what that role looked like. and then after that, after doing that for a little bit

The position opened up for the support services supervisor. And that's the current role I hold. I've been doing that for three years. And I fell in love in a different way of just being a supervisor. That was something I didn't know that I was going to like when I first started working there, but I have feeding into, you know, growing the people that are able to do their direct services. I am a backup family advocate and I supervise the current family advocates.

As well as the family greeter position and the data entry specialist. Okay. And so that's a little bit about what I do. So let's let's kind of start with somebody does not know, they've never heard of The Bridge. They don't know what in the world they do. So where where do we start? How do we start the conversation about The Bridge? Yeah. So The Bridge is a children's advocacy center.

And that's still a lot of confusing words. And so we are we provide multiple services. So there's forensic interviews, there's family advocacy, which we'll talk more about. but really so we were founded in 1989 and we were the first CAC in the state of Texas. And a group of prosecutors kind of decided that we needed help with these cases. That there was some these cases are very complex.

And there's multiple different moving parts in this investigation process for children and for families. And really what was happening is a child was having to tell their story over and over again. And so their story of abuse. And so whenever a child comes forward to tell, that's called a disclosure. Right. And so whenever they decide to disclose that abuse, they're telling their safe person. That's maybe a foster parent, that's maybe a sibling, it's a teacher, a mom, a dad, just a safe person in that kid's life that they're like, this person's gonna help me.

Matt Darrah (07:06.995)

And so they decide to tell that person. And then they have to thus so that triggers a report. That report is made. And then at that point in time, before The Bridge existed, a child would then have to talk to maybe a child protective services investigator if it was abuse involving someone in the home. Well, it's a crime. So now they're having to talk to a law enforcement investigator, a detective. And now they're having to talk to a sane nurse, a sexual assault nurse examiner.

And then they're having to talk about it a couple of years down the road whenever trial's about to happen. And also maybe they're in counseling, which is great, but they're also having to talk about it in counseling. Yeah. And so a child's getting re-traumatized every time. Every single time. Every single time they're having to tell their story. Yeah. And it was with they needed a way that that wasn't gonna have to happen. Yeah. And so thus came forward with the forensic interview, where a child gets to sit down with me or any of our forensic interviewers.

And it's a fact-finding conversation. And so my goal is just to give a child an opportunity to talk about their story. And so we do that using open-ended and non-leading questions. So our goal is to let them tell their story in their own words with us just kind of facilitating that discussion. And so every forensic interview is video and audio recorded, and we tell each child that we're going to be doing that. And so they know what to expect.

And we let them find the cameras and the microphone and they're not these kinds of microphones. It's a little thing in a wall. but they usually are pretty excited about it. And then we just get to have that conversation about what's happened. And they get a chance to tell that story one time to me. And there are investigators watching a live basically a live stream that conversation in a room across the hallway to make sure that we're asking all the questions they need for their investigation and that so that child isn't gonna have to talk to.

two three additional other people, they just get to talk to me. And so that's our primary service is forensic interviews. But obviously as the field has grown, the needs for different families have grown. And so not only do we do those forensic interviews, now the family advocates are a huge part of that conversation to talk with caregivers and to be that space for a parent to be able to process through what's happened to them too. Because we know abuse affects the family.

Matt Darrah (09:28.05)

Perpetrators are ab of abuse are usually either a family member or someone the child knows and loves. Yeah. So that could be a friend, a neighbor, a teacher, coach, a pastor. It can be a whole bunch of different kinds of people. Yeah. And so, and I'll let Leslie talk a little bit more about the family advocacy portion of it, but I think that's in a in a brief nutshell how it how I'd explain The Bridge. our true passion is just to educate and equip par kids and parents, families.

as are navigating this really unfamiliar system. Hmm. So and you guys serve the whole panhandle, right? Just the the you serve in the twenty six counties? Correct. There's not another one somewhere else. Correct. I think I think you guys have some remote sites or something. Is that right? Yeah. We have satellite offices in Pampa, Dumas, Hereford, and Clarendon. So you do the interviews there as well? Correct. Okay. All right. Yeah. Sweet.

So so what's next? So they've done the they've done the forensic interview and this is where Leslie you step in. Right. Yes. And well it's during the forensic interview that's being conducted with the child or children, that the family advocate is able to meet with a non offending caregiver, meaning a caregiver that's not suspected of abuse or neglect or has no history that is of concern to this child or family that's here or other families as well and are building

And so we're able to meet with them and able to hear their side and their perspective of what has happened, what they know, or if they don't know what's going on. so navigating those tricky situations and conversations about that, and often just letting them feel the emotions that they have because often that's the first time they're talking about it as well as that child. And so we're able to have that conversation as well as, you know, get into

you know, why they may be here as far as what services we could provide for them. so we'll go over the forensic interview in a little bit more detail than maybe what the child would understand. and then be able to talk about a forensic medical exam that can be done done on site and we will then talk about what resources the family needs. So we want to take care of what the family needs in general, not just for being there, but as well as

Matt Darrah (11:50.947)

what could now be a new resource or need that that they need because of of what has happened. And so we'll talk through all sorts of things that they might need. If we don't have that resource, we'll connect them with someone that does and just build that rapport with that family from day one. Mm. And and you're you're also guiding the conversation between all the parties, right? Between I mean, because like you said, like you said, Courtney, there's there's

Law enforcement that's involved, you've got CPS that's involved. There's all these different people that kind of have some skin in the game for every single case. And so you guys are are pulling everybody together to make sure that we're all aware of what's going on. We all know the the different parts and pieces and where things are at and all that kind of stuff, right? Yeah, we're are we're we're really trying to enhance collaboration whenever it comes to these child abuse investigations.

To make sure everyone's on the same page and has the same information, like you just said, and that everyone is on the same page for this family and for prosecution, for justice for this child. So Yeah. And and and sometimes that involves going to court. Yeah. And and testifying as to what you've been told. I actually learned the other day, I didn't know this. I thought if once they had done the forensic interview that they didn't have to testify. And then I found out that they may end up having to testify, right?

Yeah, that's a Texas law thing. And so maybe also I don't anyways. It's a Texas law thing where the a defendant has a right to face their accuser. And so in this case it would be the child. And so the forensic interview doesn't take their place on the stand. The child may still have to testify, but the forensic interview can often be a cooperation of their story. as a forensic interviewer I do testify in court.

to what the child told me and I can testify to memory and the effects of child abuse on a child and trauma. And so we it can be in addition to a case. Yeah. Mm-hmm. So how do how do families end up at your door? Wh where do you guess come into the picture? So what usually happens is that child tells her safe person and that safe person makes a report.

Matt Darrah (14:08.753)

To police, to CPS, to somebody. To somebody. Kind of depends on the circumstances of the case. Yeah. And so they make that report to whichever reporting agency. Law enforcement's always a safe bet. And they then the law enforcement agency or child protective services, they call The Bridge. And so they schedule those services and then the investigators are the people in touch with the families. And so really before they come to The Bridge physically, we don't have any like communication or conversations. Yeah.

Parents or caregivers or community members are welcome to call us and ask questions. But really, as far as getting the family there, that's gonna be on the investigator side. Okay. Okay. So I mean, we talked a little bit about, you know, ha not having to relive this multiple, multiple times. Cause because each one of the each time they have to go over that again. It's it's just like a kind of like sticking the knife win wound in again, right? I mean, that's kinda

That's kinda how I how I see it. It's re traumatizing them every single time. Yeah. Well, I think it's just not only they're having to talk about something that's very private and very intimate and very scary and there may be shame around the topic. And so it's a very complex thing for them them to even decide to start talking about and to have to continue to relive some of the most intimate parts of your thoughts over and over again with strangers.

That's a lot to ask of a human, of an adult. Of any human, yeah. Let alone a child. Yeah. Hmm. So what is what what is the family greater? You mean you Leslie you mentioned that. What is the what is that person? Yeah. So that is going to be our staff person that will greet the families as soon as they walk in and welcome them. They'll be able to make sure that the right people that are meant to be there, are there for that appointment and

explain that they'll be up at the front with them for some time before things get going. they'll play a movie, the kids get to pick one. We're very intentional to do everything child focused. So we will talk to the child and then the caregiver. so we want to make it as comfortable as possible. and so we will play that movie. We will offer, you know, drinks and snacks, play with the kids. We have a ton of toys.

Matt Darrah (16:30.758)

And things to keep the kids entertained and games and things like that. just while they're up at that front lobby area. Yeah. and they'll they often answer questions, you know, about just why they're here, how long it's gonna take, things like that. So they're just really in charge of of making the families feel comfortable and coordinating with other staff members on on what's going on with the family, if they have questions, things like that. Sure, sure. So I mean other other than, you know, you said

Some snacks and maybe putting a movie on and things like that. What other ways do you guys try to, you know, wrap around these kids and these families as they're I they're they're walking through something that's horrifying, right? Yeah. so that's just often the first thing that we do. and again trying to talk to the child just about, you know, what they like to do for fun or you know, if it's during the school year, you know, what kind of programs are they in, things like that just to start

slowly building that rapport with that child because we are strangers, but we'll try to make them as comfortable again as possible. And so we that's something that we do just to make them comfortable. But afterwards, we we have that conversation with the caregiver about the resources. And so if if they need you know, some food for just that moment, we can either purchase food for them or we partner with Snack Pack.

and we're able to give them a few or however many they need for for that day. we have some clothing and so if they need that, we'll pack things that they need, hygiene items. whatever again, if the kids are going to a different home, whatever the situation may look like, we'll have just things that they kinda need emergency based is usually what we have. and then we'll connect with long term resources for other things.

And these these interviews oftentimes they're I mean, they're not happening eight to five, right? I mean, if there's a report and it's severe enough, like you're going to The Bridge right now, regardless of date or time, right? yeah, we have an on-call team that is on call twenty four seven, holidays, weekends. And so they're available at any point in time if something does happen. So say a child witnessed a homicide, then we will ideally get that child in that evening to disc to have that forensic interview of what they were able to witness.

Matt Darrah (18:54.169)

Or if they're in an unsafe situation and have nowhere safe to go, then we'll definitely come in at any point in time to do those to do those interviews. See, I told you there'd be times we have to s cut out. So what is talk talk a little bit more about the the forensic interviews. So what is I mean, it it's different than just a counseling session where you're going through something, right? What's what is what is it about it?

that makes it different than just, you know, disclosing to somebody else. Yeah. So there is therapy and like therapeutic interviews where it's really more so focused on how child or how someone feels and h maybe how to move forward. There is interrogations where we think of I mean if anyone watches crime shows, we'll think we've seen an investigation, we've seen documentaries of of interviews.

And so that's the more interrogation type of interview. But a forensic interview, what's unique about it is that it's fact finding. Yeah. And so I'm not here to really talk about anything feelings related. If it comes up, we can talk about it. But I'm here to talk about the facts. Right. And to do that in a neutral way, in an open ended way, to give that child the chance to tell their story in their own words about what's happened and to just facilitate that discussion in a way that

Everyone would be able to understand. So if you're talking to a three year old about abuse, it's really trying to ask them questions in a way that they're gonna understand what I'm asking. Yeah. And making sure that their answers make sense. Mm-hmm. Because if they don't make sense, then I need to figure out different ways to ask my questions. So Yeah. So Leslie, you I know you talked about kind of immediate support connections there, but I mean, I've even heard it mentioned where it's like

You know, the the the offender or the the accused or whatever is in the same home and so now we have to we have to relocate, right? Because that child can't stay where the offender is and stuff like that. So you guys connect to other types of resources like that too, right? Yes. So we'll have that conversation with the investigators, if that's the route that they're going. and so if that looks like we need to call the local crisis shelter.

Matt Darrah (21:11.073)

the crisis center. they have a shelter that they're able to stay at, if that's just for that night or, you know, whatever the situation looks like, if they're able to go there. and so we'll we'll partner with whoever we need to to make sure that that family has a safe place to stay. depending on the circumstances, there's so many that yeah we'll just leave it at that. So other other than the I mean you so you're talking housing and clothing and and

food and things like that. Are there other resources that you can connect families to to also? Yeah. So one of our biggest encouraged resources going to be counseling. Yeah. And so we we are able to have contracted providers for counseling that we will recommend the child depending on the situation, depending on insurance, you know, what's the child's preference, things like that, transportation.

so there's a lot of factors that the advocates have in in their head all at the once time and just to be able to get that family to the best contracted counselor. and so they're different big than just other counselors in the area because they have specialized training. that either they come with us and apply to be contracted or we will help them get that specialized training.

Yeah. And so we we really want to encourage kids and the caregivers, siblings as well. Like you mentioned earlier, trauma doesn't just impact the child, it impacts the whole family. So whatever that child or that caregiver needs to talk through and be guided, then they can do that with one of our counselors. Right. Right. And then and then and you're you're even growing to where you can do a lot of that in house. I'm super excited about the conversation with

with Bobbi where you're you're training up counselors inside of the organization because I I I mean there's just nowhere near enough counselors that that are that are able to r really and truly help in work through trauma. Right. And so training up the counselors they are in in The Bridge to kind of be that almost one stop. Like you what you need we have here for you.

Matt Darrah (23:31.775)

type thing is is tremendous. And that's a big part of the the the campaign that you guys are doing right now, right? Yeah, that's like our overall goal is for a family to be able to come to The Bridge and get every service they need to more f move forward in their path to healing and justice. So they get to come to The Bridge and they get their forensic interview. They meet with their family advocate. They get that forensic medical exam. So they're not having to go to the hospital to get that. They get that there.

In our new facility, we're gonna have showers. And so if the sexual assault just happened, they get a chance to take a shower and have a clean change of clothes. And then law enforcement child protective services are there and so the family will get to meet with them afterwards and to have a little bit of answers on what's gonna happen next or what can they expect. And so the and now with the counseling program, they it really is does we're hoping and it it's going to be a place where a child a family and a child can come to

definitely start that journey to healing. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So talk so talk to me about the numbers in the in the panhandle. What what what what are we talking about as far as how many how many investigations or or or interviews do you guys conduct a year ish, do you know? Yeah. It's usually around a thousand. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. And that that's n every single child we interview isn't

They won't make a disclosure, you know, but it it is usually it's around a thousand. Wow. That's that's a lot. And that's you know, and then that's that's not even that's not all of the investigations that have to happen. I mean, if you have a kiddo that's, you know, three days old and there's a issue, then you're not doing an investigation with them. But just the just the kiddos that are old enough to disclose and talk through things is is a thousand is it's a lot. Yeah. Wow.

And those are cases where it's probably child sexual abuse or child physical abuse where there is marks or injuries on their bodies. Maybe they're a witness to a violent crime, witness to domestic violence. And so that's usually what that that number is. Yeah. But like you said, there's a lot of other kinds of investigations that happen that we aren't involved in. And so there that number is exponentially higher for the panhandle. Right, right. Yeah. So

Matt Darrah (25:52.303)

what are some other barriers do you do you guys think that ha so you've y you you know, s you s your child's disclosed this to you and then you have to go to this thing. What are other barriers and things that these families are gonna run into? So there could be the emotional and mental barrier as far as the caregiver coming to terms with what has happened, what they've just now found, you know, that shock and not knowing what to do.

you know, no one has a guidebook on okay, if this this is disclosed to you, what do you do next? how to report, who to report to. Those are a lot of the barriers that can happen to get a family there and to get an investigation started. but there could be barriers as far as transportation, the family just getting there. So we will if we know that that's a barrier and we try to ask to make sure that that is something that's accounted for.

we will partner a lot of the local crisis centers for all of our ten twenty six counties can provide transportation or law enforcement themselves or child protective services themselves. So that's I feel like common barriers for families getting getting there. Getting there and then beyond that is trying to figure out what life looks like after the disclosure. And even for the child, you know, the disclosure's a process and

Either the child can decide to tell. They're an act of disclosure. They're talking about what's happening. Or maybe it's an accident. Maybe mom or dad walked into a room and saw maybe siblings acting out with one another. Or maybe a little kid is playing with a doll in a really weird way and it just makes someone ask more questions. And so you know, if a child is actively choosing to tell, they there is a laundry list of things they're already stopping to consider or have considered.

Especially because like I said, we know that abuse is happening by someone in the home or a family friend. Someone that the family all knows and loves. Right. And so if I Yeah, when I was growing up it was Stranger Danger. Right. Right? Scruff McGruff Like like that's that's what you were told is if somebody was hurting you, it was somebody that you didn't know. And they're in a white van giving candy. Right. And and what we've really learned is that the vast majority of the cases are they're they're

Matt Darrah (28:17.858)

Family. Yeah, I've Or somebody close to the family. Yeah, I've interviewed over a thousand kids. Wow. And I can I can't actively think off the top of my head a time that it's been a stranger. Yeah. So it's like less than one percent for Amarillo that is actually a stranger that's committing that abuse against a child. Yeah. So it's somebody c intimately aware with the family connected. Right. And so if I'm a kid and it's my stepdad or stepmom

Or my uncle or my aunt, I'm already thinking about how is this gonna affect my mom whenever I tell her. And you know, we've had kids say, like, I'm just like my mom's been crying all the time and I'm just like tired of seeing her cry about it. And kids want to protect their parents. And a lot of times when kids are disclosing, they do it in bits and pieces. Yeah. It's pretty uncommon for a kid to just sit down and say, This is every single thing that's happened to me from A to Z. Right. And it it really is a process. And so it starts with them deciding to tell.

And then they move forward in this process of dis of disclosure of, okay, I've told, everyone's responded positively, and I w I can keep telling. But there are cases where they tell, or maybe they're testing the waters a little bit. Maybe they say they don't want to go to this aunt or uncle's house anymore because they make them feel weird. Or, you know, they're just kind of giving bits of information here and there. And maybe someone freaks out.

Even a well intended person freaks out. Right. Like what do you do when you walk into a room and you see your children doing something they shouldn't be doing together? Right. Like freaking out can be a normal response. But a child can see that and they're like, that was a big deal. I should probably not say anything else about that. Yeah. Or they decide to tell and the response from their community is that they are not believed. Mm-hmm. And so say it is stepdad or mom's boyfriend and

I there are other kids in the home and they're all stepdad and mom's kids. And so now I'm isolated and my mom is mad at me. Or maybe she's not even mad at me, but she's having to figure out how to move forward in this family dynamic where maybe he's the breadwinner Right. And now all the siblings are mad and they're saying, You better go and say that that didn't happen. And so the supportive factors in a kid's life can really determine what what they do next. Yeah. Because they're feelers. Kids are feelers, they're observant.

Matt Darrah (30:41.675)

And if they're feeling like maybe this wasn't worth it. Yeah. I could have endured this. And I can still endure it for just to have the love of my family again. Yeah.

So what if what should

Matt Darrah (31:00.202)

People in general, like parents or, you know, teachers or these different folks, what what kinds of things should they be like watching for to that that if if they see this or hear this, then you know, you probably need to make a report? Yeah, so I think there's it kind of depends on the age, right? And so what's not normal for a three year old could be different for a sixteen year old. And so

For those younger kiddos, maybe five and under, I would just kind of keep an eye out on what they're playing, how they're playing, what they're saying when they're playing. If there's ever any type of, you know, developmentally inappropriate knowledge of, you know, sexual terms or sexual positions. that should always kind of stop and make us pause and ask more questions. Yeah. And or maybe they are there's any huge changes of behaviors for any range of child.

Mm-hmm. You know, maybe your three year old is potty trained and now there's a huge regression in potty training. Or maybe your sixteen year old used to love coming around and being around and now all of a sudden they're just in their room refusing to talk to you, which could just be normal sixteen year old behavior Yeah, yeah. We've all been around a teenager. That can be a lot. But I think most importantly just feeling comfortable enough to ask questions and making it a consistent thing in your kids' life that you're interested in them. Mm-hmm.

'Cause you know, kids are the older they get, the more into phones they are. And so really just trying to have those points of connection with your kiddo of like, Hey, tell me what's happening in your life. Who are some of your friends like who are your friends? Who's your best friend? Who do you not like? Mm-hmm. And just really wanting to encourage a a connection with your kid and seeing how are they acting online. Maybe you have an eight year old and they're playing Roblox and we've all seen the big scary things about Roblox. but maybe you're a single mom just trying to figure out how to survive.

And your kid playing Roblox is a game changer for you. Yeah. And so it means I can cook dinner. Exactly. Do the laundry. Exactly. And so maybe it's you playing Roblox with them sometime and seeing the kinds of interactions they're having or watching them play the game and seeing how they're interacting with people online. Are there weird relationships? Things you should maybe ask more questions about. And so I think it really just starts with a willingness to have the conversation and a willingness to ask questions. And you don't even have to be so direct as to say

Matt Darrah (33:24.986)

has something happened with your uncle and that's why you don't want to go over there. Yeah. But it can just be as simple as, Hey, I noticed you don't want to go over there anymore. How come? And letting them tell you more about it. Cause it for a sixteen year old, they could just be going through it. And it's as simple as, You're just annoying me as my mom day. And I don't want to talk to you anymore. Okay, cool. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Right. But letting your kids know you're curious and that you care and that you notice these things about them, I think goes a long way. Yeah.

I'm gonna circle back to something that you kind of breeze past that I think it's very important for for folks to know. and that is the time. You know, we watch SVU or we watch some crime show and like the whole thing is done in an hour, right? From the minute that something happened until the end credits, and it's just you know, and it just

blows past the fact that, you know, these things can drag on for several years. So I mean, kind of talk us through I mean, you know, that's the norm, right? Not having a solution like right away. yeah. I mean it it can take, like you said, years for it to go to prosecution, for to go to a trial, to see a courtroom. And 'cause, you know, all of the it all happens right up front. So the report gets made.

You come to The Bridge, you get your interview, you get family advocacy, you have your forensic medical exam, and then there's still an investigation that has to happen after that. And that's, you know, interviews with suspects, that's collecting evidence, that is getting affidavits from everyone involved, that's talking to people around the family, as far as like collaterals go. And so it does take a whole lot time. And I think I could go on a whole soapbox about how CSI and crime shows have kind of

hurt the criminal justice system in a large way because you know, there's a lot of misconceptions that you can get from watching crime shows about how this happens. And you get a you get a a quote unquote rape kit and you get there's always DNA and DNA means that this definitely happened, you know, and so but that's just really not how it works in like in the real world. s most likely there's probably not DNA whenever it comes to a forensic medical exam. And that doesn't mean it didn't did or didn't happen. But I think

Matt Darrah (35:50.135)

whenever you're just watching a lot of crime shows or crime podcasts or things like that, sometimes it could make you a little rose colored glasses or not have a huge under a clearer picture, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Cause like you said, it's I mean it you know, it it could take a long time for it to come through, and and finally get to a point where it's actually in front of a in front of a jury. So you're

Leslie, your one of your roles is to to connect, and I think we kind of hit on this a little bit, but just to circle back to it. So to connect families with some mental health resources, right? Some of that you guys are developing and growing the program in-house, but then also you know, in the community, right? but you know, we live in

work in Amarillo. but outside of Amarillo, you know, there's not the access to the mental health resources that we have even not that we have anywhere near enough here, but but you know, you go to Borger and how many counselors are there that are trauma informed in Borger? You know, probably probably not very many, right? So you, you know, then you're then you have these struggles with trying to

You know, find them somebody that has the space and then the ability to get them to come in to these, you know, weekly or biweekly sessions and things like that. To these are these are big challenges that families have to have to navigate. And so you're you're kinda there to kinda help them through that process, right? Right. Yes. So each family would be

assigned a family advocate and they're responsible for following through with the referral that was made. again, taking in all the factors of that family, if that's transportation, if that's insurance, if that's the child's age, if that's virtual or in person counseling, you know, what the schedule of the parent looks like if they're working, if they're not, all the all the factors. And so we're in charge of making sure that family

Matt Darrah (38:14.459)

number one is educated about counseling and we can get help with thinking through what the purpose of counseling is, debunk like myths, and barriers again, getting them to go to counseling. And so we have a little over twenty contracted counselors. And so we do have some that are in small smaller towns around us, like Pampa or

like Clarendon and things like that. But we do have co counselors that are able to have virtual or telehealth sessions with the clients as well to, you know, an area that has no trauma informed counselors. Yeah. Mm. Man, it's just so tough. So so we we kinda touched on it, but the you you guys are in the middle of a campaign and you're growing it and there's there's gonna be like a whole section that's

Devoted to like the mental health piece, right? And then the other the other pieces, what what's what's on the horizon once the building is finished to be able to to do what's all encompassed in the building, the new building. Yeah. the there is gonna be the wing for mental health on its own. And so there's gonna be a separate entrance and and so that way families are just comfortable in that area and don't have to

you know, be ins involved with all the direct services that come in from investigation side of things. so we'll still have the in direct services area where they'll be able to enter through and all the rooms that we need for all the services. of course we'll have a training center. Uh-huh. And so we're able to give out trainings to

the community as far as you know professionals that work with kids or you know our own team to be able to offer the trainings that we need to. and then we will have the law enforcement area as well as CPS able to co house essentially with them. Right. and then of course offices for all of our staff as well and hopefully new staff. Yeah. Because in the you kinda touched on that but

Matt Darrah (40:31.963)

I mean, how how much easier would it be to be able to walk across the hall to talk to the CPS investigator instead of trying to call them and find a time, sit sit down together and things like that. Just just having you guys like there together to really be able to make this pr this difficult, difficult process as simple as possible on the on the families that are walking through this and and just b staying on top of

All the different parts and pieces that there are. So that's that's really exciting. Yes, it it is. It'll be so much easier. And I know Courtney has a little bit more involvement with the investigators if she wanted to add anything to that as well. I just think that it's going to provide a unique opportunity for some of our rural investigators to have, you know, the largest police department in our service area.

there as a resource to them. Yeah. Because you know, some of these smaller towns or smaller counties, they may not get a lot of child sexual abuse cases. And so they may investigate one a year. Right. Or one every two years. And so it'll be so nice to be able to have a resource to point them to like let me go grab so and so and they may be able to help you if you want that. And so just really helping to equip some of our rural law enforcement partners as well. Awesome. Awesome. Very cool.

So what are are what are some things about The Bridge that kind of the average Joe doesn't know? So The Bridge, you know, we talked a lot about law enforcement and child protective investigations. And so that's called a multidisciplinary team approach. Right. And so you were combining all the disciplines together to, like I said, kind of enhance a coordination of cases. And so we are not law enforcement. We are not child protective investigations. We do not work for the DA's office.

We are a nonprofit that's grant funded and private donor funded. And so while we work alongside those law enforcement and child protective investigations, we are just a small part of that investigation. And so we're there to provide that forensic interview and to help point families in the right direction and educate. But as far as anything beyond that investigation goes, that's always gonna kind of fall back to your investigator. And so if you have questions about where your case is at or

Matt Darrah (42:49.474)

I need to talk to so and so and I don't know how to get a hold of or, you know, so things like that. We'll be able to point you in that direction. But as far as in in terms of the whole investigation goes, we don't really do much beyond give that child the space to tell their story. Right. After the forensic interview and after they come come to The Bridge, it's all in the hands of the investigators. And so it's this whole puzzle that everyone has their own pieces that they're responsible for putting into place. But we're all very intentional to also stay in our lanes and to make sure that

I don't have the knowledge or the power or any of what you need, but here's a person that can help you. Right. So just not wanting to leave families feel clueless and g but giving them answers and someone who can maybe help them. Well, and I would think being kind of autonomous in that way and and not like beholden to the prosecutors or the police department or you you stand alone and and so you I think families could feel more comfortable knowing that it that, you know

the the police may have a preconceived idea of this or that and you know and so being able to stand apart and just provide the f the facts that that you know and and not be kind of like I said beholden to some other group that that would make things more reliable, I would think. Mm-hmm. And we sorry, we tell the families, the family advocates, you know, with every caregiver that they sit down.

they tell them at the beginning, you know, have you heard about The Bridge or has anyone told you what The Bridge is? And after their response, you know, we'll make sure either confirming what they've told us or if they don't know anything, you know, explaining that we are a nonprofit. We are a neutral third party and our sole focus is to make sure that child has a safe space but also be able to provide support not just for that day, but for the life of the case. Yeah. Mm. So good.

Well, so is there s is there anything that we haven't touched on that that you feel like we should let the public know about The Bridge? Anything else? And if not, it's okay. I had two points and I forgot but one of is one of them the community education? No, not necessarily. I don't remember what it was.

Matt Darrah (45:13.459)

I think and I that's a good caveat, but the child abuse and tackling child abuse is a community wide effort. Yeah. It requires people to be a safe person for a child to tell what's happened to them. It requires people to know what to do whenever a child says something to them. And so I just want to encourage the community that if a child does come forward and tells you something hey, this has been happening and I'm really uncomfortable about it.

You can always make an online report on the Department of Family and Protective Services website, the DFPS You can call it in and make a statewide report, or you can always call your local law enforcement agency and they'll send someone out to take that report as well. but everyone in the state of Texas is a mandated reporter. I was gonna say that, yeah. You know, we're we're all mandatory reporters. If somebody says something, you gotta say something. Everyone above the age of eighteen is a mandatory reporter. Yeah. And I will say What does that mean? That means you have to report

whenever you have a suspicion of child abuse. And so it's not saying you have to have all the facts together. Right. Please don't do your own investigation. if a child comes to you and says, Hey, this has been happening to me, you can maybe ask who and ask but then then after that, once you kind of determine are they going back to that person or are they in a safe place, then you need to you could you have what you need to make a report. Yeah. If you're worried that your kiddo has suddenly started acting out and is

Performing maybe sexual acts with dolls, then that's enough to make a report. You have that suspicion. It's not saying you need to know with a hundred percent reasonable doubt that something's happened. Yeah. You just have to have that suspicion. Because if if at being the mandatory reporter, if something happens and then you find they find out that like you knew about it and you didn't report it, then then you like could get in trouble for that. yeah.

'Cause you allowed it to continue and you knew about it. Especially if more abuse happened after you were notified. Right. That's a pretty big deal and I I feel like lately our prosecutors' offices and l law enforcement agencies are taking that pretty serious. If a child was continued to be abused and you knew about it and did nothing to stop it, they are taking that very seriously. Yeah. Yeah. You're almost I mean, I I don't know. I don't know, but almost as liable as the individual that's doing the abuse. If you know about it and you just let it keep happening, I mean

Matt Darrah (47:39.347)

Golly. Yeah. Absolutely awesome. Awful, awful. What gives y'all hope? I mean, this is this is heavy, this is heavy hard work, right? But what what gives you guys hope about this work?

I think for me it's sitting across from a child in their forensic interview and they say either thank you or I've never been able to talk about this and they say that it's a safe environment and they felt safe and they felt like it was a place where they got to have fun. Like kids often leave The Bridge saying, like, when do I get to come back? And so I just for me and a big part of whenever I came back to The Bridge, it was really

just an opportunity to be there to support a child in a family in like one of the most confusing and dark times. Yeah. And to be able to be there for them and support them in that brief moment. Yeah. And then help. And then they never remember who I am. You know, if I see them on the street, they're not gonna recognize me. But we spoke for an hour and we got into some nitty gritty details and they get to leave feeling better and like there's a weight lifted off their chest that

Finally someone knows and someone's going to help me. Yeah. And I just feel like that's what is fulfilling to me is getting to see kids feel relief whenever they finally get to start talking about what's happening. Sure. Wow. What about you, Leslie? Yeah, I think what gives me hope two parts. I think part of it is, you know, as a family advocate myself, being able to see that we can educate

caregivers about what has happened and just guide them through the process. Nobody gets like a toolkit on how to handle everything, how to parent from here on out. Like what do those conversations need to look like, you know, what to avoid, things like that. that we should be able to to talk to someone about and for them to feel heard and supported and taking care of their needs because how can they worry about counseling when they

Matt Darrah (49:49.913)

can't even put food on the table now because the breadwinner was the the alleged perpetrator. and so taking care of the family as a whole and not just seeing them as another number for us. We really want to make sure they feel seen and supported. and then the other part is just knowing that we have such a great group of multidisciplinary team members and all the work that we put into it, each each of the departments or the

the domains have their own lane, like Courtney said, but we all work really closely together for that common goal, to keep kids safe and to prevent it from happening again and making sure that whatever that justice looks like for that kid, we we will be there. and and aim for that. So I think just that having such a great team being able to work together for sure. For sure. For sure. Wow. Well I I'm

Glad for the work that you guys do. I think it really plays a really critical role. when, you know, by the time we get involved as an organization, you know, the they've already decided that the kiddo is needs to not be there and they need to be somewhere else and somewhere safe and you know, we're stepping in to to try to help them feel seen in in in that craziness in that moment. But you guys ca are coming in earlier in

to to this chaos of this kiddos life and and being able to kind of shoulder that some of that burden I think with them is it's just a f such an important role and just trying to make sure that that these kiddos get justice. Right. I mean that's that's just a really I'm I'm s it's just such an important role and I'm just grateful that you guys came and shared what you guys do and I'm grateful for the work that you are doing.

to help help kiddos that are going through some stuff. Mm-hmm. So Well like I said earlier, everyone it's everyone's job to protect kids. Yeah. And the first step of that is education. And every single person out there is a potential future jury member. And you don't know what kind of case that could be. And it's your job to be educated and to realize what abuse looks like in our community. in Texas every w it's one in six child.

Matt Darrah (52:18.688)

was going to experience abuse before their eighteenth birthday. And so it's happening. It's here. It's prevalent in our community. And so we have to take that first step of what's abuse? And how what do I do if someone tells me? And what does reporting look like? And so that plays a role in our education. We want to educate the public, educate professionals on what to do and how to respond when a child does come forward with an outcry. And so and we have our community education where we

educate professionals and we're just kind of gearing up on curriculum on how on how to educate parents on online safety and kind of some warning signs and things to look out for for their own children too. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Well thank y'all so much for coming and sharing what the the important work that you guys do. And I I just I appreciate that you're doing it. Yeah. It's a it's definitely a calling, huh? It definitely is. And you know everyone's always like, I don't see how you do that job.

And but I'm like, you know what I could never do? Be a teacher. Sitting in front of sitting in front of a room with kids, that's could be chalked up to my worst nightmare. No, I'm just kidding. but everyone has a calling and a job they're designed to do and for whatever reason it's ours. Yeah. And we're so grateful to bear that burden and and be a part of such a strong community. we really are blessed in Amarillo to have a network of people that want to step in and help. Sure.

And a community, not even just the professionals, but the community is supporting kids as they come forward too. And so it's a great place to be involved and helping kids. Yeah. Well, awesome, awesome. Well, thank you all guys so much for coming. Bracken, thanks for your episode sponsorship. If you need help with your roof, definitely give Bracken a call. Again, his number is 806-340-6205 guys, we do placement packages. That's our main gig here at

Panhandle Orphan Care Network. And so we step in once the kiddos have been placed somewhere new, then we give them a suitcase, a bible, a teddy bear, a book, a toy, and a blanket. And then on top of that, it's clothes and diapers and car seats and and just all the things that they need. And we deliver to the twenty six counties in the Panhandle So in order to do that, we need we need we need support. And so we ask folks to be

Matt Darrah (54:42.32)

A placement package partner. that looks like maybe giving us a hundred dollars a month that gives us the funding to buy all the clothes we need for one placement package. And maybe it's fifty dollars a month where you can buy a case of diapers or ten dollars a month buys us an outfit. And so if each member of the community can get involved in that way, that's gonna allow us to continue to provide more and more placement packages to kiddos as they're coming into this situation. And so

Guys, thank you for tuning in. We'll catch you next week. we've got some exciting stuff. part two of The Bridge we'll we'll post next week. And so guys, thanks so much for tuning in. We'll catch you next time.