84 Indiana Youth Serving Organizations Awarded More Than $1.1 million in Youth Worker Well-Being Project Grants

May 29, 2024 (INDIANAPOLIS, IND.) – Indiana Youth Institute (IYI) has awarded more than $1 million in grants to 84 Indiana youth serving organizations through the Youth Worker Well-Being Project.

The grants opportunities were made available for eligible organizations to identify potential gaps and needs in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) and/or trauma-informed workplaces and take steps towards improving workplace conditions for youth workers. This includes creating workplace cultures where youth-serving professionals are recognized and valued for their unique identities, abilities, background, culture, and ideas and can better manage stress because of improvements in the workplace environment.

“Indiana’s youth benefit when youth workers are well cared for and supported,” said Tami Silverman, president and CEO of IYI. “And while many organizations aspire to create more trauma-responsive and equitable environments, they often struggle with the capacity to translate these aspirations into tangible actions. The grants offer organizations the financial support and resources needed to turn aspirations into reality.”

Activities funded by the grant include training and consulting services, assessing organizational practices, and creating workplace programs to foster safe and equitable workplace environments. The following Indiana youth-serving organizations received awards for initiatives to improve diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging and trauma-informed workplaces.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Grants – $772,097 awarded

Bauer Family Resources | $20,000
Boys & Girls Club of Wayne County Indiana Inc. | $17,600
Boys & Girls Clubs of Bloomington | $20,000
Boys & Girls Club of Greater Northwest Indiana | $15,000
Brightlane Learning | $20,000
City Life Center | $20,000
Creating Avenues for Student Transformation | $5,000
Crisis Center | $20,000
Children First Center | $12,500
Direct Employers Institute | $20,000
Dunebrook, Inc. | $20,000
Eclectic Soul VOICES Corporation | $20,000
Family Ark, Inc. | $20,000
Family Focus | $14,275
Family Services of Bartholomew County Inc. | $15,450
Firefly Children & Family Alliance | $20,000
Freewheelin’ Community Bikes | $11,675
Girl Scouts of Central Indiana | $20,000
Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana-Michiana | $20,000
Girls Inc. of Greater Indianapolis | $20,000
Girls Inc. of Wayne County | $20,000
Happy Hallow Children’s Camp | $20,000
Hawthorne Social Services Association | $20,000
Healthy Communities of Clinton County | $10,160
Holly’s House | $19,322
Horizons at St. Richard’s Episcopal School | $12,000
Indiana Youth Group, Inc. | $8,500
Judah Ministries | $20,000
Kids’ Voice of Indiana | $17,250
Listen to Our Future | $15,000
Logan Community Resources Inc. | $20,000
Middle Way House | $10,500
Project Leadership | $20,000
Reach for Youth | $12,800
SCAN, Inc. | $20,000
The Children’s TherAplay Foundation | $13,300
John Boner Neighborhood Centers | $20,000
The STEM Connection | $20,000
The Villages of Indiana | $20,000
Turning Point Domestic Violence Services | $19,100
Westminster Neighborhood Services | $20,000
WonderLab Museum of Science, Health and Technology | $8,080
YMCA of Muncie | $20,000
Youth Services Bureau of Jay County, Inc. | $14,815
YWCA of Northeast Indiana | $19,770

Trauma-Informed Workplaces within Organizations Grants – $336,659 awarded

Arts of Learning Indiana | $10,000
Bauer Family Resources | $10,000
Boys & Girls Clubs of Bloomington | $10,000
Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Joseph County | $10,000
Boys & Girls Clubs of Wayne County | $9,436
Camp Tecumseh YMCA | $10,000
Champions of Youth Inc. | $7,100
City Life Center | $10,000
Clarity of Central Indiana | $10,000
College Mentors for Kids | $10,000
WellSpring | $7,900
Crisis Center | $10,000
Damar Services, Inc. | $10,000
Children First Center | $9,704
Direct Employers Institute | $10,000
Dunebrook, Inc. | $10,000
Family Ark | $5,738
Family Services of Bartholomew County, Inc. | $8,050
Firefly Children & Family Alliance | $10,000
Friends of Open Door Youth Services Inc. | $10,000
George Junior Republic in Indiana | $10,000
Holly’s House | $8,316
Horizons at St. Richards Episcopal School | $9,990
Indiana Center for Prevention of Youth Abuse and Suicide | $5,500
Indiana Youth Group | $4,000
Kids Dance Outreach | $15,000
Kids Hope USA | $10,000
Peace Learning Center | $10,000
Playworks | $7,000
Positive Character Girls, Inc. | $10,000
SCAN, Inc. | $10,000
Student Impact of Westfield | $10,000
Susie’s Place Child Advocacy Centers | $10,000
The Children’s TherAplay Foundation | $10,000
The Diversity & Innovation Institute | $10,000
The STEM Connection | $10,000
The Villages of Indiana | $10,000
Turning Point Domestic Violence Services | $10,000
Youth Service Bureau of Jay County Inc. | $9,925

A second round of applications for grant opportunities through the Youth Worker Well-Being Project will launch August 2024. Sign up for IYI’s Weekly Update at iyi.org/newsletters to stay up to date on grant application dates.

The Youth Worker Well-Being Project is a collaborative statewide effort to address individual youth worker well-being, workplace conditions, and root causes of stress in the sector with the goal to promote meaningful change in youth workers and invest in their well-being so they can provide the highest-quality services for Indiana youth. Other recently launched programs include telemedicine and virtual mental health services, Peer Support Groups, and the Emerging Leaders of Color Fellowship.

The youth work profession includes staff from youth development organizations and service bureau staff, mental health counselors, child and family welfare professionals, mentors, family support clinicians, residential treatment staff, and others at community-based organizations. Through their work, Indiana’s youth-serving professionals impact more than 1.5 million children under 18 across the state. Children benefit when professionals are engaged, aware of the needs of youth and families, knowledgeable about best practices, and when they can cope effectively with stress.

Interested Indiana youth workers and youth-serving organizations can learn more about the next round of grant opportunities and other project initiatives at youthworkerwellbeing.org.

###

About Youth Worker Well-Being Project
The Youth Worker Well-Being Project is a collaboration between Indiana Afterschool Network (IAN), IARCA Institute for Excellence (IARCA), Indiana Youth Services Association (IYSA), Indiana Youth Institute (IYI), and Marion County Commission on Youth (MCCOY). Funding for the Indiana Youth Worker Well-Being Project is made possible through a $20 million Lilly Endowment Inc. grant to Indiana Youth Institute.

Indiana Afterschool Network
IAN advances opportunities for learning beyond the school day so that all Indiana youth can grow into healthy, thriving adults. Its vision is to help every young person in Indiana have access to quality out-of-school programs provided by valued professionals. IAN has developed a research-based system of continuous quality improvement to help programs better meet the needs of youth through afterschool standards, professional development, self-assessment, and coaching. IAN works with communities across the state to increase access to high-quality out-of-school time programs.

IARCA Institute for Excellence
The IARCA Institute provides training, practice advancement support, and transparency to Indiana’s child and family welfare community. Founded in 2000, the Institute supports a culture of ongoing practice and system improvement so that Hoosier children, youth, and families have access to the
quality services they need and deserve.

Indiana Youth Services Association
IYSA is a membership organization that supports 30 Youth Service Bureaus, serving youth in 70 counties in Indiana to fulfill the four core roles of prevention programming, advocacy, community education, and information & referral. IYSA leads many statewide initiatives including an anti-human trafficking program, youth worker renewal fellowships, youth work competency trainings and certification, public awareness campaigns regarding medical amnesty, and Indiana ACEs Coalition.

Indiana Youth Institute
Since 1988, IYI has worked to improve the lives of all Indiana children by strengthening and connecting the people, organizations, and communities that are focused on kids and youth. IYI provides critical data, capacity-building resources, and innovative training for over 2,500 diverse youth-serving organizations and 17,000 youth workers each year. IYI has a long history of actively listening to Indiana’s youth workers and community leaders, leveraging their feedback to facilitate collaboration and promote problem-solving and collective advocacy on a statewide scale. IYI is serving as the administrative lead for this project, employing dedicated staff and providing supportive services.

Marion County Commission on Youth
As Gateway, Connector, Advocate, Capacity Builder and catalyst for Youth Engagement, MCCOY strengthens and supports the thousands of individuals, hundreds of organizations, and scores of systems in Marion County that serve our youth. MCCOY’s goal is to ensure that every young person has equitable access to the supports, programs, and services needed to grow, learn, and thrive into successful adulthood.