Addressing Mental Health Services and Youth Development in Indianapolis - A Nonprofit’s Approach to Holistic, Trauma-Informed Care

As a medical student participating in the inaugural cohort of the Hoosier Public Health Corps, a summer program formed in partnership with IU School of Medicine and AmeriCorps, I worked alongside staff at Reach For Youth Inc. – a local nonprofit that provides mental health and youth development services for central Indiana youth. During this time, we created a new project called the Summer Skills Series Initiative, providing an Emotional-Social Learning curriculum to students with our participating community partners. I also worked with the Teen Court program, which offers an alternative to juvenile justice penalties through restorative justice and community engagement.