An Army of Normal Folks - 25,000 Babies Experience Withdrawal Every Year—So This Mom Took Action (Pt 2)

Episode Date: March 31, 2026

Every year, 25,000 babies experience withdrawal from addictive substances after birth. Jill Kingston saw this up close as the very first 2 babies that she decided to decide to foster were withdrawing from heroin. This normal mom felt convicted to do even more and so she founded Brigid’s Path, which helps both these newborns and their parents to heal. And they’re so successful that when 70% of these babies enter foster care, 85% of their babies remain with their families! You’ll walk away from this episode believing that you don’t have to feel qualified to solve a problem—you just have to start.Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/#joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey, everybody. It's Bill Courtney with an army of normal folks, and we continue now with part two of our conversation with Jill Kingston right after these brief messages from our generous sponsors. You know Roll Doll, the writer who thought up Willie Wonka, Matilda, and the BFG. But did you know he was also a spy? Was this before he wrote his stories? It must have been. Our new podcast series, The Secret World of Roll Doll, is a wild journey through the hidden chapters. of his extraordinary, controversial life. His job was literally to seduce the wives of powerful Americans. What? And he was really good at it.

You probably won't believe it either. Okay, I don't think that's true. I'm telling you, the guy was a spy. Did you know Dahl got cozy with the Roosevelt's? Played poker with Harry Truman and had a long affair with a congresswoman. And then he took his talents to Hollywood, where he worked alongside Walt Disney and Alfred Hitchcock before writing a hit James Bond film.

How did this secret agent wind up as the most successful? successful children's author ever, and what darkness from his covert past seeped into the stories we read as kids. The true story is stranger than anything he ever wrote. Listen to the secret world of Roll Dahl on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 10, 10, shots five, City Hall building. A silver 40 caliber handgun was recovered at the scene. From IHeart Podcasts and Best Case Studios. This is Worshack, murder at City Hall.

How could this have happened in City Hall? Somebody tell me that. July 2003, Councilman James E. Davis arrives at New York City Hall with a guest. Both men are carrying concealed weapons. And in less than 30 minutes, both of them will be dead. Everybody in the chambers ducked. A shocking public murder.

I scream, get down, get down. Those are shots. Those are shots, get down. A charismatic politician. You know, he just bent the rules all the time. I still have a weapon, and I could shoot you. And an outsider was a secret. He alleged he was a victim of flatdown.

That may or may not have been political. That may have been about sex. Listen to Rorschach, murder at City Hall, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When you listen to podcasts about AI and tech and the future of humanity, the hosts always act like they know what they're talking about, and they are experts at everything. Here, the Nick Dick and Poll show, we're not afraid to make mistakes. What Coogler did that I think was so unique. He's the writer-director. Who do you think he is?

I don't know. You mean, like, the president? You think Canada has a president? You think China has a president. Those law crusade. God, I love that thing. I use it all the time. I wrap it in a blanket and sing to it at night.

It's like the old Polish saying, not my monkeys, not my circus. It was a good one. I like that snake. It is an actual Polish saying. It is an actual Polish saying. Better version of Play Stupid Games, win Stupid prizes. Yes. Which, by the way, wasn't Taylor Swift, who said that for the first time.

I actually thought it was. I got that wrong. Listen to the Nick Dick and Paul show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Kristen Davis. Host of the podcast, Are You a Charlotte? In 1998, my life was forever changed when I took on the role of Charlotte York on a new show called Sex and the City. Now I get to sit down with some of my favorite people and relive all of the incredible moments this show brought us on and off the screen. Like when Sarah Jessica

Parker shared that she forgot we filmed the pilot episode. You forgot about it? In the very long time they took to pick us up. And when the show was picked up, I panicked. And Cynthia Nixon reveals if she's a Miranda. We both feel confident about our brains. But that's kind of where it ends. Plus, sex in the city super fan, Megan V. Stelion, doesn't hold back on her opinions of the show. Carrie will literally go sit New York on fire and then come back and type about it at the end of the day. Like half of it wasn't her fault. Listen to Are You a Charlotte on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Amy Rovock alongside T.J. Holmes from the Amy and T.J. podcast.

And there is so much news, information. Commentary. coming at you all day and from all over the place. What's fact, what's fake, and sometimes what the F. So let's cut the crap, okay? Follow the Amy and T.J. podcast, a one-stop news and pop culture shop to get you caught up and on with your day. And listen to Amy and T.J. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

What does physically, what does architect? What does Bridget's Path look like? Is it like a house or? It's a facility, but it looks, in the front, it looks like a little house. But then there's a long hallway with four nursery areas. One nursery area has been changed into a family center. So it's a place where moms can cook, do their laundry. There's a shower, hang out, watch TV, have meetings, that sort of thing.

Then we have an education nursery where they do mommy and me classes. and do any kind of education that way. And then we have two nurseries that have six bedrooms on the nursery area. And so when a baby comes, each baby gets their own bedroom, and then there's a bed in there for mom or dad or whoever's rooming in. We had a grandpa recently that roomed in with a baby and took. That sounds pretty cool. Yeah.

It's probably for some of these parents, one of the most wholesome settings they've ever been able to exist in with their baby. Yeah. And we have two people, Neely and Brad, who take care of the whole building, making sure it stays organized and clean, and it is the most beautiful building. I get compliments all the time about how clean, you know, we've been operational eight years,

and it looks like it's still brand new because of the care they take. Well, that's a great segue, the operational for eight years part. Yes. Lots of people have ideas, lots of people have passions. And I love that just as a foster mom, you decided to, it's only three hours away. Let me go down to West Virginia and check out what these folks are doing because this isn't, I mean, I love that you got passionate about it and decided, I got to see what other people are doing about it. But there's a problem with all that, which is this work of helping moms and babies. with drawing from Doug, it's expensive.

Yes. And you're, quote, just a normal person. Yes. It's not like you have some big, massive organization behind you. I didn't even know people could write checks when we start getting bigger donations. And I'm like, I had no idea. People just wrote a check like that. That's my question is eight years ago, where are you going to get the money for all this?

I had no idea. And how does this even get reimbursed from any systematic health care organization or even because it's brand new does it initially? Yeah. How? Somebody's got to be thinking, this sounds great, but how are we going to pay for it? I'm sure somebody else was. I had no idea. I stepped out in faith.

I had, it was, like I said, a strong calling for me. I knew this was what. I was supposed to do. I didn't know how to do it. I didn't know what it would entail with how much money we would need to raise our operational budgets, about $3.5 million a year. Good, brief. Because we're 24-7, and we have nurses there, 24-7 taking care of these kiddos.

So what did you do? We, in the beginning. It's important because as people are listening to us, maybe they don't want to get into this, but they have another idea. Yeah. And one of the biggest barriers to entry is, where am I going to get the money in the sport? You know?

Yeah. So how'd you do it? I honestly just told my story and what I envisioned happening and I had people that reached out to me saying I hear what your vision is and how can I support that? You're kidding. No. That's a God thing. It is a God thing. And all of this has been.

Same with the building that we're in. A family reached out to us and said, we heard that you are in need of a building. We'll donate it to you. do you have your 501c3? And I'm like, what? No, I don't have any of that. What's the 501? Yeah, I was still learning all of that.

Yeah, I didn't know any of that. And so we didn't even know what a 501c3 was. No. Really? No. I hadn't been, I'd stay at home doing my, you know, soccer pressure. Were you a stay-at-home mom when this all started? Yes.

What is your background professionally? Sure. I have my master's in education from Ohio State and Wright State. And so I stayed at home after teaching for two years. To raise your family. So, yeah, I taught for two years and stayed at home. My wife stayed at home, raised our four kids. So when I say what I say, please know that I know that despite all of the work I've done building my business and the stress and everything else, I had the easy job.

Right. And I do not mean that in this all shucks, false humility, you know, masculine, gratuitous way. I'm not trying to say it falsely. I truly could not have done what Lisa did. Right. Staying at home with kids screaming at her. Yep. And somehow putting a smile on her face and putting lipstick on and have a dinner ready

when I walked on the door. Right. I have an enormous amount of appreciation, respect for what my wife did. She is the same. Okay. She is. So having said that, what makes you think as a stay-at-home mom, former teacher that you're going to be able to take this massive thing on when you don't even

know what a 501c3 is? I didn't know. I was just stepping out in faith. That is phenomenal. Where was your husband's mentality on this? Are you crazy or, you know, what was he thinking? Probably. That's a great question.

You'd have to ask him what he was thinking. He'd probably say, I'm a dreamer. And so I'm always looking at how to make things better. And he's very supportive. I wouldn't be able to do this without him. He is very supportive of. But he never once looked at you and said, honey, now, come on. He often says he likes to how things to death, and I like to wow them to life.

Oh, I love that. He likes to how things to death, and you like to wow them to life. Yes. That's on our social media. That's one of the greatest quotes we've heard. Normal folks wisdom. Nick Kingston. What's his name?

Nick Kingston. Nick, Kinks, yeah. Yeah, you don't get the credit. Nick. I don't take the. That line will go on an army and normal folks lore as long as we are alive. He liked to how things to death and you like to wow him to life. Yeah.

Sounds like your relationship, too, Bill. I did a lot like it. It may be why I like it so much because I identify with it. That is a great quote. Yeah. And that is also on Nick's behalf, that is a. really an aware statement. I think that's pretty cool.

Okay, so you don't know what a 501C3 is. You have a family reach out to you and say, if you get a 501C3, we'll give you a building. And then you just started telling your story how social media, word of mouth, at church, going knocking on doors. Yeah, it was more through the church, it was more through the church, the optimist clubs, the community groups, and getting with, you know,

there's big nonprofit. it's in the area, getting with them at different events to talk about what we were doing. And people started writing jacks. And people started. We had a woman and her best friend who were taking a walk one day and they just were praying about what they wanted to support. And they both brought us up at the same time. And so they were our first donors. They came alongside and financially got us off the ground.

How much money did that take? That first year to get off the ground. about $2 million. Holy crap. To get the building built to where it needs. You say that. You say that, about $2 million. Do you realize how much money that is?

I do, because I don't have that much money. I do. And that's just how God works. He brings the right people at the right time. We had an architect come when the building was donated to help us. He became our first board president, still on the board. but his guidance through all of this has helped me because he had a long professional career of managing people and helped me, he's helped me since day one. He still helps me every day. We had a sister of the precious

blood and her best friend come alongside to help take in donations and write grants and organize all the things. People were already starting to do diaper drives before we even had our building ready for us. And so they helped do that. So we just had to do that. So we just had people walk alongside us that said, how can I help and how can I be part of this? One was our clinical director, Lisa Jason. She's a neonatal nurse practitioner. She had been working with babies who are exposed for 20 years, but she was starting to see the increase and working on initiatives in Ohio to decrease the length of stay, that sort of thing. And we were connected.

and she was, I'll say one of her quotes. I told her about Lily's place and when we first met, and she said, I'll go to West Virginia with you. And she, no idea who I was. She jumped in the van. She said that jumping in the van with a stranger is how you end up, what she's a headless in the cornfield. She said, but she jumped in the van with me, went down there,

and she was bought in at that point. And so she created the whole medical side of what we do, because I'm not medical, but what she has created on the medical side and how these babies are treated medically is top-notch. Yeah, I mean, you're not a nurse? Nope. I mean, that even makes it more. I failed out of nursing school.

Is that a true story? It's true story. Are you kidding? No, I started Ohio State nursing, and I just couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. Believe it. At least Tara Sundum was an actual nurse. I'm so jealous of Tara.

She's amazing. I don't want to do the, the, guilt trip thing here, okay? Do your families and moms that you serve, do they have any conception of what you and your community are doing for them and their families and the commitment it takes to make it happen? Because to me, they need to understand that they really aren't alone. Right. Do they know?

I think they know it. They feel it. The people at work at Bridget's Path, the nurses, patient care assistance, the volunteers, all our staff, they just fill them with love. Some of them have never had that support system around them. It's a gophe. Yeah. It's a copy.

So, help me understand this. If you get a baby born, exposed to drugs, you get them to withdraw, whether it's that one week or some that you recognize are the ones that take all 30 days. Right. Okay. Once they're over it, I don't know the right term, so forgive me. But once they're completely clean and over the withdrawal symptoms and everything, why not just send them home and call it a success?

Because that's when we see the family fall apart. Because families have to be educated and supported so that they can succeed. It's not always done after that 90 days. 90 days is not enough. I would love to have the next step where they have housing and a supportive community around them. Because it's, I mean, I think about my own children. I have five children and my three oldest are in college and still all live at home. I can't imagine them trying to figure this out on their own.

It's the cost of housing, the cost of living in general. None of these families have that support system around them. And so we're trying to create that around them so they have that stuff. so that they can succeed. It's giving them a hand up so that they can also build a family and be strong community members. We'll be right back. You know Roll Doll, the writer who thought up Willie Wonka, Matilda, and the BFG. But did you know he was also a spy?

Was this before he wrote his stories? It must have been. Our new podcast series, The Secret World of Roll Doll, is a wild journey through the hidden chapters of his extraordinary, controversial life. His job was literally to seduce the wives of powerful Americans. What? And he was really good at it. You probably won't believe it either.

Okay, I don't think that's true. I'm telling you, the guy was a spy. Did you know Dahl got cozy with the Roosevelt's? Played poker with Harry Truman and had a long affair with a congresswoman. And then he took his talents to Hollywood, where he worked alongside Walt Disney and Alfred Hitchcock, before writing a hit James Bond film. How did this secret agent wind up as the most successful children's author ever, and what darkness from his covert past seeped into the stories we read as kids.

The true story is stranger than anything he ever wrote. Listen to the secret world of Roll Dahl on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A shot's five, City Hall building. A silver 40 caliber handgun was recovered at the scene. From IHeart Podcasts and Best Case Studios. This is Worshack, murder at City Hall. How could this have happened in City Hall? Somebody tell me that. July 2003, Councilman James E. Davis arrives at New York City Hall with a guest.

Both men are carrying concealed weapons. And in less than 30 minutes, both of them will be dead. Everybody in the chambers docks. A shocking public murder. I scream, get down, get down. Those are shots. Those are shots. Get down.

A charismatic politician. You know, he just bent the rules all the time. I still have a rule. And I could shoot you. And an outsider with a secret. He alleged he was a victim of flatdown. That may or may not have been political. That may have been about sex.

Listen to Rorschach, murder at City Hall on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When you listen to podcasts about AI and tech and the future of humanity, the hosts always act like they know what they're talking about and they are experts at everything. Here, the Nick Dick and Poll show, we're not afraid to make mistakes. What Coogler did that I think was so unique. He's the writer-director. Who do you think he is? I don't know. You mean, like, the president?

You think Canada has a president. You think China has a president. Those law crusade. God, I love that thing. I use it all the time. I wrap it in a blanket and sing to it at night. It's like the old Polish saying, not my monkeys, not my circus. It was a good one.

I like that snake. It is an actual Polish saying. Yeah. It is an actual Polish name. Better version of Play Stupid Games, win stupid prizes. Yes. Which, by the way, wasn't Taylor Swift, who said that for the first time. I actually thought it was.

I got that wrong. Listen to the Nick Dick and Paul show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Kristen Davis. Host of the podcast, Are You a Charlotte? In 1998, my life was forever changed when I took on the role of Charlotte York on a new show called Sex and the City. Now I get to sit down with some of my favorite people and relive all

of the incredible moments this show brought us on and off the screen. Like when Sarah Jessica Parker shared that she forgot we filmed the pilot episode. You forgot about it? In the very long time they took to pick us up. And when the show was picked up, I panicked. And Cynthia Nixon reveals

if she's a Miranda. We both feel confident about our brains. But that's kind of where it ends. Plus, sex in the city super fan, Megan V. Stelion, doesn't hold back on her opinions of the show. Carrie will literally go set New York on fire and then come back and type about it at the end of the day. Like half of it wasn't her fault. Listen to Are You a Charlotte on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Amy Rovock alongside T.J. Holmes from the Amy and T.J. podcast.

And there is so much news, information, commentary coming at, you all day and from all over the place. What's fact, what's fake, and sometimes what the F. So let's cut the crap, okay? Follow the Amy and T.J. podcast, a one-stop news and pop culture shop to get you caught up and on with your day. And listen to Amy and T.J. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. This is not part of my original plan to ask, but as you said that, I'm thinking of my

my kids in college. Yeah. We raised them right. We educated them. Of course, kids are idiots. So despite your expectations and your rules and everything else, they're going to do those dumb things that they all do. Lord knows I did plenty of them when I was their age.

And so while you hold them accountable, you all so forgive and you take mistakes as teaching moments. Right. All to say that when my children were 19, 20, 18, 21, even. college, getting through college. Honestly, they were ridiculously stupid human beings. And they had absolutely no chance of making it in the world, despite Lisa and I's best effort to prepare them.

Even as 25 to 30-year-old people, while they're paying their bills and they're employed, they still do things that I just look at and go, I didn't raise you. I don't know where you came from because that's the stupidest thing I've ever seen in my life. Will seems pretty straight-laced. Will? He does some of the stupidest stuff

you never imagine. Oh, he's just a complete jacket. So anyway, side note. He's my child and I love him and I'd give my right arm for him, but they're idiots. So I'm thinking about even with support and

great education, everything else, how lost they are. or when it comes to things and some of the questions they asked me, that I'm like, how did you not know that already? Did I not teach you? Right. So transfer that to somebody their same age that had none of that, that fostering and mentoring.

Or they were in foster care and passed from house. The house. Fostering is about word mentoring, let's say, or parenting, right? What do you think the average ages of the parents that are having these babies? Are they usually pretty young? Mm-mm. Really? No, our average age is 30.

You're kidding. You're kidding. No. But chronologically, they're 30, but maturely, they're still like kids. Yeah. They seem a lot younger than what, than 30. Because they just haven't had the, they have had a different experience in life. So they haven't had the same, like when I was 30, I had three kids and was starting to foster and, you know, stable.

but I also had parents who raised me to go to college and are there for me still. If I need something right now, I could call my mom and dad and say, hey, going through this, help, and I could get the help. Or from my older sister, you know, we're really close. None of that. No, they don't have that. And never have. Never have, or their parents aren't alive anymore. But that explains the whole need for the 90 days of beyond.

Yes. You are catching up, in some cases, a decade or more. Yes. Of absence in all things. Yep. Do you work on how to handle yourself financially and things like that too? Yep. So you're mentoring these parents as well as taking care of their child.

Yes. They do one class called parenting and recovery because a lot of them may have had children previously that they could have lost to the foster care system. And this is the first time that they're actually parenting while they're in recovery. And so it's a very focused program that works with them on how to deal with the issues that, you know, any parent has to deal with. I mean, like you said, your kids make dumb decisions. And instead of losing it, what's the proper way to handle that situation?

And they work through all of those. Especially when their experience as a child of making a spike was probably to get. just beaten or something. Yeah. And no mentoring, no teaching. Nothing. Yeah, so we're teaching them how to be parents. So you're literally trying to reverse a lifetime of crap.

Yeah. So that fully explains why, okay, the kids no longer withdrawals. Let's send them home, why you want to keep them longer. But under that context, 90 days isn't near enough. No, not near enough. Do you stay in touch after? Oh, absolutely. We have about four family events where everybody comes back to,

and we're getting ready to have our Easter egg hunt. You know, we do Halloween, Christmas. We did the big holidays. And they can come to us at any time if they need anything. We had a mom recently that she was in a, I believe it was a sober living program that dropped, like she didn't have to pay very much for rent. but they changed it all of a sudden, said,

you're going to be evicted if you don't pay this X amount of money. And so she came to us, and we were able to help get the money that she needed to stabilize at that time. And her daughter's much older now. So our oldest baby is eight years old. Your oldest baby is eight years old. From Bridget's Path, because we've been operational for eight years. That's incredible.

Yep, Colton. And so you stay in touch. Oh, yeah. You know what this infant is. it was that you got. He's going to be our next spokesman because he is the cutest guy. He is so sweet. Yeah. He still comes to all the family events. We've talked about it a little, but if there's one thing you want our listeners to hear about these moms, in drastic contrast to dismiss them as a terrible person, what is that one thing we need to know about these moms?

that they just want to be loved and understood. No different than their infant. Yeah. No different. No different than us. We just want to be accepted and understood and loved as people. And so that's what we open our doors with, and that's what we lead with. Because we are a faith-based organization, but we don't lead with here's the Bible, start reading it.

we just walk the walk and we offer love and kindness, because many of our moms have been burned through their lives. Why God has forsaken them, they feel like that. And so we're trying to show them the other side of it, that God does love them and that we are here for them. Tell me a story that's going to warm my heart. I'm sure there's a lot of them. I know. Of an infant and a mom that you took him where the child was going through all kinds of masks. and the mom had clearly led a disastrous life that through the work that you've done with them and their investment in the work that you've asked them to do

looks completely different today. Tell me one of those stories. So we have one mom who she had multiple children and she had lost custody of most of them. And her two-year-old, he was one at the time, was in foster care, she was pregnant. And so she was, had been lost in addiction, had a hard life growing up.

What was she addicted to do? I don't know what her drug of choice was because it's different. But it was heroin or meth or hard stuff. Yeah, hard stuff. A lot of the, a lot of things we see now is we don't see heroin anymore. Fetanol has definitely taken over. And then we see meth, cocaine, that kind of thing. Crack.

crack. I don't know if they can tell the difference when they drug test that from cocaine, but they could. I don't know. I'm not expert on that. A lot of marijuana. But anyway, mom had struggled her whole life, but was at a point where she was ready to be well. She was tired. She was exhausted. She just wanted to be a parent. She came to Bridget's path and spent the whole 90 days there with her son and did an amazing job. I would go anywhere and take her anywhere and I would take her into my own home. She's amazing and she's worked her butt off to parent this child and children's services came in and took the baby. Why? I don't know because she did everything she was supposed to do. And the past, do you think? Yeah. I don't know what

They're historic working with her and a lot of people, the stigma of you messed up, so now you're never going to have a chance. We fought and fought for them not to take the baby, and we were not able to do it. So we stayed with her and fought with her, and she now has custody of her one-year-old. And so that's the baby that was with us. She got him back. She stabilized her and her husband in their home, doing an amazing job, and now they just got custody back. of their two-year-old. And they are,

they're ready to light the world on fire. They're amazing. They're incredible people, and she's going to do amazing things. I think she's going to be able to show others the path that she's been in and how to do what she has done. And without your organization,

that ever happens. Yeah, that's what she tells us. I know you don't, I know you don't want to pound your chest, but I can say it. I mean, where does that story end, if not having had... Right. How can you see that kind of story? We see that a lot.

We walk with moms a lot. We go to court with her. We fight for her. We help find housing. We help connect her to other organizations that do supportive, you know, help as well. So we really try to build that community around these women so that they can thrive. How has this changed you? Oh, it's changed me tremendously.

I had no idea even of the trauma that people have been through in their lives. To sit down with a mom and listen to how she's been trafficked by her own mom. What? We hear that all the time. And it's just... Their mother... Trafficked them. ...pipping out their own daughter.

Yep. Oh, that is. disgusting. Yep. We've seen it over and over. We've had a mom that she's passed away. She ended up not getting clean, but her mother was still doing it, even when the babies were with us. And, um... Well, okay, well, but, okay. It's awful. Why does a 21 or 22-year-old person just not say no? The abuse is so deep and so, um, has been happening. their whole lives. They don't know to say no. They don't know anything else until they're given

that opportunity to see that there is a different path, talking to these other women that have been through what they've been through and that there is a different path that they can follow. They literally feel like, well, this is what I do. This is life, yeah. That is horrific. That is horrific. That in our society, that is... In our regular neighborhoods, and people think that it's like, oh, inner city problem. or teenage problem. It is not.

It's happening in our neighborhoods that are affluent neighborhoods. Wow. So it's opened your eyes as one of the ways that's changed just a person, I guess. It's opened my eyes and it makes me want to even, I just want to take all the moms and babies home with me. Nick, that's a wow statement. You better build a bigger house. That's right. We'll be right back.

You know Roald Dahl, the writer who thought up Willie Wonka, Matilda, and the BFG. But did you know he was also a spy? Was this before he wrote his stories? It must have been. Our new podcast series, The Secret World of Roll Dahl, is a wild journey through the hidden chapters of his extraordinary, controversial life. His job was literally to seduce the wives of powerful Americans. What? And he was really good at it.

You probably won't believe it either. Okay, I don't think that's true. I'm telling you. I was a spy. Did you know Dahl got cozy with the Roosevelt's? Played poker with Harry Truman and had a long affair with a congresswoman. And then he took his talents to Hollywood,

where he worked alongside Walt Disney and Alfred Hitchcock before writing a hit James Bond film. How did this secret agent wind up as the most successful children's author ever? And what darkness from his covert past seeped into the stories we read as kids. The true story is stranger than anything he ever wrote. Listen to the secret world of Roll Dahl

on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcasts. A shot's five, City Hall building. A silver 40-caliber handgun was recovered at the scene. From IHeart podcasts and Best Case Studios. This is Rorschach, murder at City Hall. How could this have happened in City Hall? Somebody tell me that.

July 2003, Councilman James E. Davis arrives at New York City Hall with a guest. Both men are carrying concealed weapons. And in less than 30 minutes, both of them will be dead. Now, everybody in the chambers duct. A shocking public murder. I scream, get down, get down. Those are shots.

Those are shots, get down. A charismatic politician. You know, he just bent the rules all the time. I still have a weapon and I could shoot you. And an outsider with a secret. He alleged he was a victim of flat down. That may or may not have been political. that may have been about sex.

Listen to Roershack, murder at City Hall on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When you listen to podcasts about AI and tech and the future of humanity, the hosts always act like they know what they're talking about and they are experts at everything. Here, the Nick Dick and Poll show,

we're not afraid to make mistakes. What Coogler did that I think was so unique. He's the writer-director. Who do you think he is? I don't know. You meet the, like, the president? You think Canada has a president? You think China has a president?

Lozah Crosette. God, I love that thing. I use it all the time. I wrap it in a blanket and sing to it at night. It's like the old Polish saying, not my monkeys, not my circus. Yep. It was a good one. I like that snake.

It is an actual Polish saying, though. It is an actual poem. Better version of Play Stupid Games, win stupid prizes. Yes. Which, by the way, wasn't Taylor Swift, who said that for the first time. I actually, I thought it was. I got that wrong. Listen to the Nick, Dick, and Poll show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Kristen Davis, host of the podcast, Are You a Charlotte?

In 1998, my life was forever changed when I took on the role of Charlotte York on a new show called Sex and the City. Now I get to sit down with some of my favorite people and relive all of the incredible moments this show brought us on and off the screen. Like when Sarah Jessica Parker shared that she forgot we filmed the pilot episode. You forgot about it? I completely forgot about it. And when the show was picked up, I panicked. And Cynthia Nixon reveals if she's a Miranda. We both feel confident about our brains.

But that's kind of where it ends. Plus, Sex and the City super fan, Megan V. Stelion, doesn't hold back on her opinions of the show. Carrie will literally go set New York on fire and then come back and type about it. at the end of the day. Like half of it wasn't her fault. Listen to are you a Charlotte on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Amy Roboc alongside T.J. Holmes from the Amy and T.J. podcast.

And there is so much news, information, commentary coming at you all day and from all over the place. What's fact? What's fake? And sometimes what the F. So let's cut the crap, okay? Follow the Amy and T.T.J. podcast, a one-stop. news and pop culture shop to get you caught up and on with your day. And listen to Amy and TJ on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. When it comes to those moms, right, that you know are just full of lifetime of trauma and all of that. Ballpark, how many of those moms are you able to actually change? I know you can change their baby's life.

And if they don't get straight, the baby can find a way somewhere else. Yes. But how can you change? How many of those, what percentage do you think of those moms you can change? Or do you change? I don't know a percentage. We know that we're keeping about 85% of our babies with their family of origin. Well, that it has to be 85%ish.

Ish. Sometimes moms aren't ready. And so we do find healthy family members. Or sometimes it's dad. Dad doesn't have addiction problems, and he steps up and takes, raises the baby. We have some amazing fathers raising their babies right now. And it's phenomenal to watch that, too. Listen to us, everybody.

As Jill explained, opened eight years ago in 2018. Bridget's Bath is one of only a handful of dedicated centers in the United States providing specialized care for babies born exposed to addictive substances while supporting mothers working toward the recovery. What Jill just said is really important. The organization has served over 300 families, 85% of newborns cared for, are discharged into family care, and 70% of those would have otherwise ended up in foster care. And we've done enough stories around here to understand that despite its best efforts,

foster care as at best and inadequate backstop. After an 11-year advocacy effort, you guys became the first facility of its kind to be reimbursed by Medicaid in the state of Ohio. I want to talk about that a little bit. Because before we started recording, you told me a little bit about it. Sure. But because you're not a hospital, in addition to funding that you've got to go raise money, you have historically not being able to get any real reimbursement from the state or the federal government or anything, even though you're doing the important work from some of the most at-risk babies

that even hospitals can't do. So it's like this catch-22 quandary that you found yourself in. And somehow you lobbied the federal government to start changing some of that and the state. Tell us about that from this poor little housewife who didn't know what she was going to do. Yeah, which is not at all what you are. So in 2018, we were able to work with Congress to amend the Social Security Act to allow pediatric recovery centers. That's our designation that's federally, to get Medicaid. reimbursement. At the time, Lily's place was getting Medicaid through their state plan amendment,

so they did have some sort of Medicaid. Ohio didn't want to do a state plan amendment, so we had to go federally and do it. Hushabai and Jacobs, which are in Arizona, Arizona reimbursed as a adult detox. So they actually get Medicaid as an adult detox for their babies. And then Maddie's place in West Virginia does not get any kind of reimbursement either because their state doesn't have anything. So Maddie's is now working to replicate what we've done. So now that we've done it federally. And you would know this because you've traveled to all of them. Yeah, I work closely with all the centers. They're amazing people, each one of them. Like I said, a total of five of us. So Maddie's is now. Only five in the whole country. And there's two in Phoenix, or two in Arizona, yours, one in West Virginia. Lillie's places in

West Virginia, and then Maddie's place is in Spokane, Washington. That's it. And Maddie's place and Bridget's path are the most similar in that we are allowed to have that longer stay, whereas Lily's Hushabai and Jacobs, they have to do the medical stay, only as long as the baby's medically necessary to be there. They can't have that social stay where we're trying to balance, you know, fight housing. Which seems to be almost as important as the initial, as you've explained to us. But first, there's only five.

It seems like there needs to be at least one of these in every city in the country because it's rampant, which is interesting that we can talk about. But before we get to that, you lobbied the federal government to start getting, how did you do that? Our senators came beside us and helped us do that. I don't know how to do any of that. I went to D.C. and I would testify when they told me to testify. I had other people that just, they really helped do this. Did they carry the bill together? Was it bipartisan?

It was bipartisan. So what, Sherrod Brown and I'm blinking on where I've been? Ports. Oh, Rob Portman? Portman. Yeah, sorry. Yep. Well, that's weird.

Do you mean a Democrat and Republican work together? They worked together and they were amazing and got it through. Yeah. Okay. So what does that mean now that you can get from the photo government? So our state kind of fell behind because of COVID. So they did not write the rules for our state until July, this past July. From 2018, boy, government moves.

I know, I know. So they helped us get that in place on July 1st. The rate is not where we need to be. It costs about $1,300 per day per baby at Bridget's Pass. And the reimbursement is $5.59 per day per baby up to 30 days. Well, how much does a hospital get? $7,000 per day per baby in Ohio. Okay.

See, this is where I go crazy. I appreciate you pat and everybody on the back for helping you. But a hospital who can't do as good a job in this specific instance that you do would get $7,000 a day and you get $570. Why? I'm always told by Medicaid and by, um, lobbyists is that hospitals have a lot higher overhead, and so they get higher reimbursements. But it's still not covering your cost. I know.

What is your cost? About $1,300 a day. I mean, you're not looking to make a profit, but just cover your cost. We would just like, yeah, even if they would just double our rate, and we can fundraise the other amount, but right now it covers about 30% of a baby's day. Okay. everybody listening to me right now should be on the phone calling somebody that's a policymaker

that you have any relationship with or, God forbid, somebody in D.C. is listening to us now that actually knows how to make some of this happen. To me, that is just dumb. It's just dumb. I mean, you're changing family. We're always looking how to break the proverbial cycle. Right.

You guys have come up with a way to significantly break the proverbial cycle. take at-risk children who are probably going to grow up and continue the cycle and absolutely break it, but also with their parents. You're serving some of the most disadvantaged families and turning them, hopefully, at a clip of about 80% into productive people in our society. Yet we want to reimburse you at about 8% of what we would reimburse a hospital because it's different. Right. Does that not bother you? It bothers me like crazy, but I try to, you know, politically work with the system, and hopefully we can get something changed.

I've been trying to get a hold of HHS at the federal level, health and human services. That's the head, Grim Puba. Yeah. What's his name? Secretary Kennedy, because they just put a new initiative in federally to help with some addiction services. And I'm like, we'll be your guinea pig, help us. we'll show how to do it correctly. There's a lot of changes in Medicaid

and reimbursement for behavioral health right now, even that the state's going through. But I'm not too worried about that because there's a lot of people that abuse the system and abused Medicaid. We're not doing that. So I'm not worried about us losing anything that way. So I'm trying to work with those systems to say,

show what we're doing. We're doing it the right way. let us be your example of how to do things the right way. I will say our governor, Mike DeWine, has been a huge supporter of Bridget's Path. I would not have been able to do what I've done in the last four or eight years without him by our side. So that is one that's been very, very helpful. I have two kids that work in D.C.

I have one that's been in policymaking in D.C. everybody I've ever met when it all comes down to it, they're really good people, well-intentioned people. Absolutely. They really are. It's just the gears of government grind at a pace, and there's so much politics involved in policy that good ideas get gumbed up for ridiculous reasons

that make no sense. So I'm really not throwing stones at any individual. But systematically, I will still say it does not make any sense to me. I would love to change some systems from child welfare because we're keeping kids out of the system. We're changing families or having family preservation. And then from the medical side, looking, you know, we're starting to partner with big managed care organizations, having them, they're the insurance company that pay the Medicaid, having them look at us as the place that these babies need to be. And so that's what we're working toward right now. Yeah, there's a lot more wow stuff going on in your Noggin.

Yes, there are, yes. And it's hard because then there's all the operational side of what needs to be taking care of and just keeping the culture good at Bridget's path. And, you know, everybody that reports to me and working with them. And then we're doing hard but holy work is what we say. And so keeping secondary trauma is a real thing. And so our staff is stretched so thin because we only have so much of a budget that we can pay people and keep people and not add more people because of our type.

budget that I have, I'm constantly working with our team to keep them healthy and trying to create, you know, really build out these programs so that they're, they continue to be powerful and change lives. I can not believe you've done this in eight years. With all the reimbursement stuff too, it's super short-sighted because yes, you may spend more with you guys your proposing, but long term would save the system a ton of money. That's a thing. Not having kids in foster care, not having kids in prison, like, whatever it is.

If you look at the amount of money a government would invest at the long-term return on that investment, the cost, all right, let's just say you didn't exist. The cost of these children and what they're going to cost society in our system likely, I'm not saying that people don't pull up themselves by their bootstraps, but likely what their parents and they are going to cost the systems in terms of social services, and incarceration and everything else, pales in comparison to what an extra $600 a day would be for 90 days to actually get them on the right path. I mean, it's pennies on the return. It really is. And that's what we've been trying to tell that story.

But again, like you said, it's hard to get government to change. And so I would love to be able to, I don't have the capacity to do those numbers, right? say, okay, what's the scenario look like if this baby does not get help and this family does not get help? What is the cost on the system? And then in turn, what is the savings by us existing? Oh, well, okay, I can do this. $600 a day more times 90 days. Yeah.

Right? Okay, so that's... Well, after the, they only pay the $5.59 per day for 30 days. Yeah, I'm saying all of it. Okay, so we need $1,200 for 60 days. Yeah. And we need another $600 for $30. Yes.

So $600 for $30 is $18,000, right? And then $1,200 times $60 is $72,000 about. So you need about $100,000 per child for the whole 90 days. Yes. $100,000 for that child for 90 days to get everything fixed and on the right path. Right. I guarantee you the cost to, the revenue stream and the government coffers over the course of that child and their parents' lives in terms of social services, incarceration, everything else, foster care.

School system. That's the future of both the parents and the child's life well exceeds a million dollars. I have been told just to get a child that has a lot of issues through from kindergarten to 12th grade is about a million dollars on the school system. That one child. So it's at least a 10 times multiple on the investment of $100,000. It is. It is. There's a huge ripple effect for good if we can invest early in these children's lives.

That's got to be a story somebody can take up and go tell and get changed. Has to be. Where's Nick? What are we doing? He's an IT guy. I got it. There's another volunteer job that I want you to talk about. that is not a nurse, that is not anything but just a normal person,

that everybody listening to us could be right now a cuddler. Tell us about that and why it's so important. Our cuddlers come in 24-7, well, usually during day hours. We'd take them during night, but it's hard to find people in the middle of the night. And they just come in to rock and feed the babies. They're there. They even become friends with the moms because the moms have meetings to go to, and they're like, they have their cuddlers.

they like. And so they just come in to do that therapeutic candling. That's it? Rock a baby. An hour? They come in for three hour shifts. And they simply rock a baby. They just rock babies. Sometimes we have we, so we have our new development director who is now one of her passions

is volunteering and how to bring a volunteer to get involved in different ways. And so she's trying to create our program now of outside of cuddling because we have about 1,500 hundred people on our waiting list to cuddle.

What? Yeah, 1500 people on the waiting list to cuddle. I forget, oh, there was a, one of our grandfathers took the baby home to go home with him the other day. We posted it on social media. She is now getting about six applications a day since that went viral. You're kidding. No, so we're trying to figure out what else can, in a medical center, can they volunteer

and do? We need people at the front desk. We need people to help with events, or third-party events too. And, you know, what else is there out there that people can be doing? So she's been working on that. And we have a new social media person that's been doing an amazing job, getting stories out there and telling the stories of our moms and our families and showing what we're doing.

I'll tell you what those 1,500 people can do. Give them each the name, email, and address of their representative and tell them to start writing letters about this inadequacy. funding from Medicare. That's smart. And have them start writing letters and emails every day. Because I tell you from a father of a son who is the chief of staff of a congressman, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Yep. That is how it works. I swear to you, there's one thing they could do. Everybody write a letter once a week for a year and see if people don't start saying, okay, we got to shut these people up what they want. Right. No, that's a great idea. But cuddlers, huh?

Yeah. Cudellers get to come in and cuddle, baby. Alex, would you be a cutler? I don't know if you could be a cutler. Lisa would be a good cutler. Lisa would be a good cuddler. Ashish, you got a nice, big warm belly. You'd probably be a great cutler.

Yeah. We have some guy cutlers. I love having my children fall asleep on my chest. Yes. And filling their little heartbeats and research shows, and I know you know those, but research shows that that the infant feeling that intimacy, they feel your breaths and your heartbeat, and it calms them. It does. A lot like being in a womb.

And so it nurtures them along. And I think the job of a cuddler, I think that's just a hilarious. Hey, what do you do? I'm a cuddler. Oh, well, that's good. But, I mean, it's awesome. We do. And I think it's amazing that you have 1,500 more cuddlers than you have babies.

Yes. It kind of speaks to the good nature of the human spirit, too, that people really just want to show up. That's what I've seen since the very beginning. People have wrapped around Bridget's past. The Dayton community is a strong, amazing community, and people just lean in and help out wherever they can. So it's been a huge blessing. Just an army of normal cuddlers. Just an army of normal cuddlers. That's right. That's what they are.

We'll be right back. You know Real Dahl. The writer who thought up Willie. Wonka, Matilda, and the BFG. But did you know he was also a spy? Was this before he wrote his stories? It must have been. Our new podcast series, The Secret World of Roll Doll, is a wild journey through the hidden

chapters of his extraordinary, controversial life. His job was literally to seduce the wives of powerful Americans. What? And he was really good at it. You probably won't believe it either. Okay, I don't think that's true. I'm telling you. The guy was a spy.

Did you know Doll got cozy with the Roosevelt's? played poker with Harry Truman and had a long affair with a congresswoman. And then he took his talents to Hollywood, where he worked alongside Walt Disney and Alfred Hitchcock before writing a hit James Bond film. How did this secret agent wind up as the most successful children's author ever? And what darkness from his covert past seeped into the stories we read as kids.

The true story is stranger than anything he ever wrote. Listen to the secret world of Roll Dahl on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A silver 40-caliber handgun was recovered at the scene. From I-Heart podcasts and Best Case Studios, this is Rorschach, murder at City Hall. How could this have happened in City Hall? Somebody tell me that. July 2003, Councilman James E. Davis arrives at New York City Hall with a guest.

Both men are carrying concealed weapons. And in less than 30 minutes, both of them will be. dead. Now, everybody in the chambers ducked. A shocking public murder. I scream, get down, get down. Those are shots.

Those are shots. Get down. A charismatic politician. You know, he just bent the rules all the time. I still have a weapon. And I could shoot you. And an outsider with a secret. He alleged he was a victim of blackmail.

That may or may not have been political. That may have been about sex. Listen to Rorschach, murder at City Hall, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When you listen to podcasts about AI and tech and the future of humanity, the hosts always act like they know what they're talking about

and they are experts at everything. Here, the Nick Dick and Poll show, we're not afraid to make mistakes. What Coogler did that I think was so unique. He's the writer-director. Who do you think he is? I don't know. You mean the president?

You think it's like, the president? You think Canada has a president? I think China as a president, the law a rousette. God, I love that thing. I use it all the time. I wrap it in a blanket and sing to it at night. It's like the old Polish saying,

not my monkeys, not my circus. It was a good one. I like that saying. It is an actual Polish saying. It is an actual Polish saying. Better version of Play Stupid Games, win stupid prizes. Yes.

Which, by the way, wasn't Taylor Swift, who said that for the first time. I actually thought it was. I got that wrong. Listen to the Nick Dick and Paul show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Kristen Davis, host of the podcast, Are You a Charlotte?

In 1998, my life was forever changed when I took on the role of Charlotte York on a new show called Sex and the City. Now I get to sit down with some of my favorite people and relive all of the incredible moments this show brought us on and off the screen. Like when Sarah Jessica Parker shared that she forgot we filmed the pilot episode. You forgot about it? In the very long time they took to pick us out. And when the show was picked up, I panicked. And Cynthia Nixon reveals if she's a Miranda.

We both feel confident about our brains. But that's kind of where it ends. Plus, Sex and the City super fan, Megan V. Stelion, doesn't hold back on her opinions of the show. Carrie will literally go set New York on fire and then come back and type about it at the end of the day. Like half of it wasn't her fault. Listen to Are You a Charlotte on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Amy Roboc alongside T.J. Holmes from the Amy and T.J. podcast. And there is so much news, information, commentary coming at you all day and from all over the place.

What's fact? What's fake? And sometimes what the F. So let's cut the crap, okay? Follow the Amy and T.J podcast, a one-stop news and pop culture shop to get you caught up. and on with your day. And listen to Amy and TJ on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. How do our listeners that want to find out more? Where do they go to? Our website.

Which is? Bridget's path.org. B-R-I-G-I-D-S. Not Bridges. Bridges. Bridget. Right. Yeah.

B-R-I-G-S-Path.org. Correct. Let's say somebody out there is inspired by this and says, like to start this. How they get in touch with you? They can email me. I'm Jill at bridget's path.org. Good. You should explain the name too. Oh, so. I was about to ask. I swear to he jumped the gun. I was about saying.

Bridges Path, explain it. So Bridget, I'm Catholic. And so. I guess you are. When I was. He's Catholic. I know. When I was trying to find a name, I was looking for a saint of some sort. and she is the patron saint of newborn babies. There's one.

There is such a thing. I didn't even know. There's a patron saint for everything. I'm Presbyterian, so I don't even know about all these saints and pearls or whatever y'all are. You just thank them for all your holidays. You just thank them for all your holidays. St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day. I got it.

I do know that I went to my mom's house last night and passed the cathedral of Immaculate Conception. It's right by your house. It's like two blocks away. Yeah. It's like two blocks here. But then four hours. later, I came back from my mom's house, and there was many cars there when I left as I came back, and I'm like, what are these Catholics doing for five hours over here all night?

Was it Wednesday? Yeah. It was Ash Wednesday? No, no, no. I knew what that was. It was last night. It was Sunday night. But then I thought, oh, it's probably two services.

Yeah. I just called him in the five thing. You just passed the services at the same time. Yeah. My accountant is also Catholic, and he came in to do some paperwork, and he walked in, and he's bald, and he had this massive cross on his forehead. Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's a good one.

My priest says huge hands. And so he was like, and I had to have an interview that day by the newspaper, so I had to get it all off. And it was great. And then path. That also has, it comes from Psalm 254, show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Say that again? Show me your way, Lord, teach me your paths.

And that was as I was trying to figure out how to get this done, that I had the path laid out in front of me. But as families come through, that they have a new path in their life. That's beautiful. Jill, have you allowed yourself to take a step back and just... I'm not good at that. I mean, come on. Look at what's happened.

It's... What do you feel when thinking about that first child that you recognized after, at three and a half pounds, after throwing up everything you just put in them? Yeah. and the bright lights and the screeching from that first child, where you were awakened to this real problem of exposed babies to now. When you think about that, I mean, Jill, this is, it's extraordinary. Have you taken a moment to just step back and take a deep breath and say,

wow, look what we've done? Yeah. What's amazing is when God calls somebody to do something, what he will do through them. That's what I've got to see. But one of my favorite things is the family events. When our moms and babies come back and now, you know, they're zero to eight years old now and to see where they are and they're all happy to tell you what they're doing and their job that they have or where they're living now and to hear their stories and watch them thriving is that's when I'm like my heart is exploding out of my chest. It's amazing. They have to look you, dead eyes, and hug you and say thank you. They do. They're amazing. When you hear that, do you just weep? Yes.

I'm like, no, it's not me. It's not me. It's them. They're doing the hard work. I was just able to lay the program out for them. Some of, I mean, I will start tearing up thinking about it if I allow myself. Some of the greatest experiences in my life are watching. some of the young men that I've coached or some of the people I've hired in my business,

that their lives are exponentially better from their work to try to adhere to some different notions or different ways of leading life. Right. And to know that here 15 years later, their life and their path is just a completely trajectory that it would have been. it is without a doubt some of the most rewarding little moments that I get in my life when I get to catch up with them and see how they're doing it all. Chavis is coming to the kickoff event, by the way. See, there's a guy.

You all had reached out to me. I had sent my video, the stand-together video of you, and my husband's like, he was crying through it, watching your story. And it's just amazing, the lives that you're changing. He would wow it to life with you because he likes football. That is so sweet, but that is not where I was going. I'm not trying to break my arm here. I know. All I'm saying is my soul gets filled up with their success, right?

Yes. And I hesitate to say what I'm going to say, but I'm going to say it because it's just true. I don't want to be prideful in it because I feel like my pride stands in the way of God's work. Yes. But I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't proud. Right. But I have to temper that with why I'm proud and all of that. Right.

Aren't you proud in that context? Absolutely. I love seeing these moms thrive. I love seeing them be able to be moms. But when you look in that facility. Oh, I love it. And you say all the people, aren't you just dream? I love it.

We have the best people at Bridges Bath. They give their lives. every day to these babies and these moms and families. And it's beautiful. And one thing that I get to do, and the people that work in Bridges Path, they get to experience submission every day. We get to go and rock a baby. Sick of being in meeting, sick of doing whatever you're doing,

you can walk down the hall and rock a baby. And it's the best feeling ever. And we fall in love with the babies and the moms. Would you have ever thought to me in years that eight years after that first child was introduced into your home that this is where you'd be. No. No, I had no idea. No idea where we were going.

We often talk about when amazing things happen among the army of normal folks in our country. It's when their passions, what they really care about, collide with opportunity. That's when magic happens. That's exactly what this feels like. You were passionate about babies. You were passionate about that baby and what was wrong with it. And you saw this opportunity. and you took a drive to West Virginia and an explosion happened.

Yep. That's exactly what happened. So it's just as easy as seeing what you're interested in and taking the first steps and working. Anybody can do it. Anyone can follow their passion. And because I often say that God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called.

Another quote that we had, wow. I heard that one funny. She did not invent that quote. I did not. God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the call. Love it. I feel that every day because I never feel qualified because I'm always up against, like, now I'm learning Medicaid language.

And then you're learning, you know, when you're up in D.C. doing stuff, you're learning that language. Or when we were building the building, we had to learn all the architect language or the medical language. And so it's always something else. I am definitely not qualified. That's a keep doing Catholic route, but I mean, this is Christian, but in the Bible, like, talks about, you know, just don't worry about what you're going to say. Let the Holy Spirit say the words. And even I've always hated public speaking, you know, in the past, but now I'm doing more and more of it with what we're doing. And it's just, you just got to go for it and not worry about it. And whether you're Christian or not. I mean, that same mentality. You just got to go for it and do it and you'll get better over time. And who cares. That's exactly. I did not prepare for this at all because I just prayed that God would give me the words that he wanted the listeners to hear. here, and I do much better that way. If you tell me what to say, I'll mess it up completely.

Well, you did beautifully, Joe. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thanks so much for all that you do. And thanks so much for flying down and spend an afternoon here in Memphis with us to tell us the story. Everybody, Joe Kingston, founder of Bridget's Path, one of only five of what needs to be thousands across our countries, caring for infants.

who are born experiencing withdrawals as a result of their parents' addictions. And the beauty of it is is not only are you helping the babies, you're helping the families and hopefully breaking that horrific chain of generational issues. I really hope that you get more and more help

from policymakers because the less time you spend having to raise money, the more time you can spend caring for families. That's exactly. And the easier it is for other people to do this across the country, too. That's what people are waiting for. We had a group come in from Alaska. We've had a group come in from Chattanooga just recently.

They want to replicate, but there's no sustainability in this right now. Unless you have a bunch of really well-hilled people writing checks. Yeah, that's what, yeah. The policy has to be changed to support what needs to be done. And it's still an infinite. cheaper option than what we're currently doing. Absolutely. We just got to get policy to make a stir.

And there's more investment in the family and it's less cost. One thing that hit me while you're wrapping bill is obviously we care about this particular issue with withdrawal and the health of babies and the moms. But like so many of our stories, it's also not about that. It's just like with homelessness or so many other issues, it's more just an opportunity to have a loving relationship with another human being and beyond this journey called life with them. Yep, absolutely. It's also something an Army and normal folks could conquer.

Absolutely. No doubt. From the policy issues and getting things changed to be able to support this to being cutlers. Yes. It is a beautiful example of from the spectrum from federal policy all the way down to sit in a rock and chair for an infant that needs it and all points in between in between. this is a perfect example of what an Army and normal folks with each individual passion could fit in this work to fix something that ails us. So it's a beautiful example. And Jill, you know, I just got to believe that there's more wows on your thinking. I try to hold myself back.

I can't wait to keep up with you. And I know through the Stand Together Foundation or Stand Together organization, we'll hear more about you. you. And thanks so much for sharing your story. Thanks so much for the work you do. And I can't wait to see where you end up eight years from now. Thank you. Because I got to believe you're going to just keep on, keep it. We are. We appreciate it. We appreciate you having us out here. And thank you for joining us this week. If Jill Kingston has inspired you in general, or, better yet, to take action by not waiting to feel qualified to go solve a problem, by exploring foster care by creating something like Bridget's Path in your community, donating to them,

or something else entirely, please let me know. I'd love to hear about it. You can write me anytime at Bill at normalfokes. Us. If you enjoyed this episode, I'm begging you. Share it with friends and on social. Subscribe to the podcast. Rate it, review it. Join the army at normalfokes. dot us, any and all of these things will help us grow. An army of normal folks. I'm Bill Courtney. Until next time, do what you can. You know Roll Doll.

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