Clearwater Nonprofit The Living Lab is Changing Kids’ Lives

For Sarah Seoudi, patience isn’t just a virtue — it’s a way of life.

For four years, the widowed mother of two has been helping her children and others deal with the stresses associated with grief, trauma and everyday life through The Living Lab presents Mindful Methods, a nonprofit program she founded in 2023 that provides an outlet for kids to express themselves and navigate life by utilizing a holistic health approach based on Buddhist principals.

The journey Seoudi has undertaken since her husband, a Marine veteran who struggled with substance abuse and PTSD, was killed in a car accident in October 2021 has been long, bumpy, and expensive, with several stops along the way.

But after self-funding her startup with her own money plus donations from supporters and friends, including business partner Laura McHenry, Seoudi can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. The Living Lab has found a home base in Clearwater and aligned with key community partners.

“We really live through faith, and it’s all about unlocking your journey,” Seoudi said recently from The Living Lab’s headquarters at 2337 Belleair Road in Clearwater, the third location in two years after she launched an adult-focused version of the program at the Ridgecrest YMCA fall 2021.

“So, even when we didn’t have answers, paths kept opening.”

Those paths have come through recent collaborations with major city and county organizations, including the Juvenile Welfare Board (JWB), the Clearwater Neighborhood Family Center (CNFC), the cities of Largo and Clearwater, Pinellas County Schools, The Tampa Bay Community Foundation, Rainbow Village and Evara Health.

In July, Seoudi and McHenry took the Lab — focused on four curated stations where kids do everything from drawing to creating scents, cards and fruit smoothies — to St. Peterburg College’s Drew Street campus in Clearwater to participate in the CNFC’s eighth annual Rising Above Wellness Wonderland.

The sprawling event provided an opportunity for them to show how The Living Lab works with each child individually and in group settings, teaching everything from good hygiene and self-care to using their creativity, imagination and other outlets for dealing with trauma, fear, anger and self-doubt.

CNFC Executive Director Terry Jones said he found Seoudi’s program through a coworker and thought it was an ideal fit for his organization’s recent pivot to focusing on mental health and wellness.

“I met Sarah last year, and I instantly fell in love with her ideas and her solutions,” Jones said. “I wasn’t really sure,” about inviting The Living Lab to participate in the July 16 event, “but I was sure of her. I felt her passion and her knowledge. So, we gave her a shot, and she did really well.”

Indeed, the shot proved fruitful — The Living Lab had a full class of 30 kids for the 10 a.m. event.

Watching her work with the kids one-on-one, it’s easy to see why children trust Seoudi. She meets them literally at their level and talks to them like “regular” people, not troubled children.

“We want to help you work through the senses and emotions you feel every day,” Seoudi told two young boys coloring paper butterflies, which she uses as a symbol for The Living Lab program.

“Sadness, anger, fear, happiness all live inside us, and some emotions are stronger than others,” she continued. “What we do here is help exercise the emotions that don’t get as much work, like joy. It lives inside you, and we want you to experience feelings you haven’t had yet. We teach you how to make those parts of you stronger, and we want you to know you are not alone. We’ve got your six. I’ve got your back.”

When Seoudi asked for an adult-like handshake to seal their deal, the boys happily obliged.

“Ninety percent of dilemmas can be solved with dialog, and every kid is so different,” she said afterward. “So, we have to ask, how can we meet them where they are and get them to achieve self-sustainment?”

HAPPINESS STARTS AT HOME
Seoudi said she believes The Living Lab is finally attaining stability and success because the nation’s children are in a crisis that crosses all political, social, racial and religious boundaries.

“The Living Lab is for everyone. There’s no politics or religion involved, because this is an American problem,” said Seoudi, who “loves God and was raised as Roman Catholic” growing up in Philadelphia and was introduced to Buddhism’s principals by her late husband.

She also doesn’t pretend their methods are the only solutions for today’s kids and families.

“We know there are other methods that are working,” Seoudi said. “We’re not the moral compass. But we are wellness advocates starting at home, and we will work with anyone who needs us. We won’t turn kids away.”

The “at home” element is another component that separates The Living Lab program from others.

“We literally walk through every part of their life with the Lab, meeting with teachers and parents and family members, which allows them to integrate these tools without us,” Seoudi said of the free program, which is currently at capacity. They are working on new avenues to increase the size and scope.

“Teachers are above their heads, and parents are lost, too,” McHenry added. “So, we can be an advocate and mitigate the situation, because we’re a community of people who should be working together.”

Several parents of kids enrolled in The Living Lab’s action plans and wellness sessions said having everyone included in the process initially drew them to the program.

“Sarah always brings the family in. She never excludes family,” said Reba Harrison, a Clearwater mother of three whose kids suffered after their father’s death five years ago. “She asks if it’s OK how she presents herself to the kids, and I really appreciate that. She doesn’t see me as a threat.”

Fellow parent Erica Sekso, who has an 11-year-old daughter, Alissa, and 14-year-old son, Zachary, enrolled in The Living Lab program, agreed.

“My daughter loves it,” she said as the kids lounged in one of the Lab’s colorfully decorated sensory rooms.“She enjoys learning healthy habits and she brings those habits home. Sarah is an inspiration to all of us. She’s such an amazing person.”

Kristin MacRone, another Living Lab parent and volunteer, went further describing Seoudi.

“She brings out the best of everyone she’s around. She’s like an extra parent they’ve been missing.”

When told about the praise she’d received from the parents, Seoudi was genuinely surprised.

“I don’t get to hear that kind of stuff very much,” she said with a laugh. “But it’s very rewarding to know that what we’re doing is impacting these kids’ and families’ lives in such a positive way.”

THE NEXT LEVEL
Thanks to the new partnerships with organizations like CNFC, JWB, Evara, and others, as well as a new online course and platform for adults and organizations wanting to join “for a nominal cost,” Seoudi and McHenry believe The Living Lab is finally ready to spread its wings and reach kids and families nationwide.

“We think all communities can use this, and we can’t be everywhere,” McHenry said of their plan to integrate the program into schools, after-school programs and other childcare facilities. “So, if we can create this baseline, hopefully it will take off, and that would be our goal.”

“I feel like this is our time and this is a big year for us,” the ever-positive Seoudi said from their new Belleair Road space, where they recently signed a three-year lease, providing much needed stability for the program.

When asked to reflect on how far she has come since her husband’s death, Seoudi said: “This is a journey, and when I started, I understood it wouldn’t be through in a year. This is something we’ve dedicated our lives to, and the most important thing I’ve learned is, this isn’t really about me. It’s about responsibility, and the more you take responsibility, the more things begin to click. Keep showing up, have faith, and surround yourself with family, friends and supporters, and good things will happen.”

When Living Lab parent Reba Harrison was asked during a December open house if the program was having a positive effect on her previously traumatized kids, the Clearwater resident didn’t hesitate.

“Their morale has been boosted,” she said of her twin 8-year-old daughters, Tira and Tori, and 10-year-old Tali. “The girls are participating in a gifted program in school and in youth services at church, and they’re excited about it instead of feeling indifferent.

“With Sarah’s help, they know they’re special.”

For more information on The Living Lab, Inc, visit the nonprofit’s website.

Read the article as originally published at https://www.tbnweekly.com/clearwater_beacon/article_215b6798-aa9e-4b82-8654-5bff1372b7ff.html