ABOUT US

Beginnings
Evolution
The Bridge Builders
Under the mandate of the Episcopal Bishop of Western Massachusetts, its Founding Director, The Rev. Christopher Carlisle, hired Associate Director and veteran, Chad Wright, to serve as the initiative’s Chief of Operations. Tom Davis, our Communications Director, manages Building Bridges social media and fundraising efforts.
Rounding out the Building Bridges core team are its Elms College social work interns, who spend 400 hours during the year in fulfillment of their fieldwork requirement, working with the team, visiting sites, and engaging the needs of individual veterans.

Bishop Douglas Fisher
Bishop Douglas Fisher was elected in 2012 with a mandate for the Diocese to prioritize and address the needs of military veterans.
Before his election, Doug was the Rector of a parish outside the gates of West Point, and served as a West Point chaplain.
“Credentialed mental health professionals like me have no place in center sage. We are stagehands—get the lights on, sweep out the gum wrappers, count the chairs, make sure it’s a safe and warm enough place. So, the Building Bridges core team perceives that its job is to ‘get out of the way’, freeing those who risked their lives for us all to feel grateful that they served.”
How it all comes together


What happens at a Building Bridges meal?

The Story Behind the Meals
As human beings, we all know the physical necessity of eating. Indeed, studies increasingly show how eating affects both physical and mental health. Yet, according to the USDA, more than one in nine military veterans—who risked their lives to protect the farms that produce the food we all enjoy—suffers food insecurity, while one in six is on the brink of not having enough to eat. Building Bridges’ “meal counter” testifies both to the need to feed our veterans, as well as the poignant tragedy that so many continue to go hungry.
The story behind the hot nutritious meals that bring Building Bridges Veterans together is the story of the challenges that face those who risked their lives for us all. According to the Veterans Administration, many researchers deem social isolation “the strongest and most reliable predictor of suicidal ideation, (suicide) attempts, and lethal suicidal behavior. In addition to suicide, loneliness and social isolation have been linked to other poor physical and mental health outcomes, and functional difficulties.”
The stated mission of Building Bridges is to address veteran depression, social isolation, and suicide risk. According to a recent survey cited by the VA, over half of U.S. veterans confessed “feeling lonely some of the time or often.” As important as physical nutrition may be in fulfilling Building Bridges’ mission, it is the nourishment of the soul—the camaraderie, support, and listening, which happens around the table—that is the magical heart and soul of Building Bridges, and to those who have yet to join, promises an untold fulfillment.