CICF's For Good

“I think the important thing is that’s where they are right now, and they need help. I think a lot of judgments are made about, again, choices, or substances, or mental health, and all of those things. That could be any of us. If that were me, I wouldn’t want people judging how I got there. I would want help to get out of that situation. I think that’s what a lot of our neighbors are looking for.”

—January, clinical supervisor at Horizon House

Ending homelessness can be done, says Rodney Stockment, the city of Indianapolis’ senior strategy director for homelessness, adding that collaboration and supportive services are imperative to its eradication. In this month’s episode of For Good, hear from Rodney, representatives from Horizon House, Partners in Housing and the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention (CHIP) about the realities of homelessness in Marion County and the collaborative efforts to end it.

If you enjoy this episode, subscribe to For Good through your favorite podcast app and leave us a review!

Transcription of episode available below.

WHO YOU’RE LISTENING TO

* Angela Cain – Angela Cain Communications

* Angela – currently experiencing homelessness and resident at Blue Triangle Residence Hall

* Richard Martin – currently experiencing homelessness and Horizon House neighbor

* Rodney Stockment – senior strategy director for homelessness at the City of Indianapolis

* Alan Witchey – former executive director at CHIP (Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention)

* January Jetter – clinical supervisor at Horizon House

* Melissa Burgess – program manager at Horizon House

* Mindi Brown – ambassador and project manager for Partners in Housing

* Scott Armstrong  – executive director at Partners in Housing

DISCOVER MORE

Breaking the cycle of homelessness – blog by CICF’s Diane Schussel

Mapping unsheltered homelessness in Indianapolis – report from Public Policy Institute and CHIP

Learn more about our community ambassadors – CICF podcast episode

CHIP unveils 5-year strategy to slash homelessness in Indianapolis – article in the Indianapolis Business Journal

Welcome to For Good, Central Indiana Community Foundation’s podcast highlighting stories about passion, purpose, and progress in central Indiana. At CICF, we believe in opportunity and equity. We believe that our communities and neighborhoods are stronger because of our d...

“God put me in this position. . . as far as substance abuse, sexual abuse, mental abuse, divorce, school dropout, teen pregnancy, all of these different things that you think about in a community, have either happened to me or someone in my family. So who else to better speak up for the community or bring the community together?”

—LaToya, resident of Carriage House East in the city’s Far Eastside

Although there has been much focus on and development in neighborhoods close to the downtown core, communities further out are often overlooked. This month’s episode of For Good focuses on the Far Eastside and how its residents are stepping up to make change happen in their neighborhood. Both Mount Carmel Church and the Collective Impact Council are featured in this episode for their place-based initiatives that are giving residents a new sense of hope.

If you enjoy this episode, subscribe to For Good through your favorite podcast app and leave us a review!

Transcription of episode available below.

WHO YOU’RE LISTENING TO

Kim Jacobs – WFYI Media

LaToya Tahirou – resident at Carriage House East

Annie Smith – CICF community ambassador

Alicia Collins – director of community collaborations at CICF

Tanya Johnson – chief of staff at Mount Carmel Church

Ellie Lindhem – service coordinator manager at Carriage House East Apartments

DISCOVER MORE

Glick Fund at CICF

Groundbreaking for Carriage House East Resident Success Center in The Indianapolis Star

Learn more about our community ambassadors

CAFE (Community Alliance for the Far Eastside)

WHERE IS THE FAR EASTSIDE?

Click to enlarge map. Map created by Naplab. Learn more about the map and where you can get one for yourself here.

Welcome to For Good, Central Indiana Community Foundation’s podcast highlighting stories about passion, purpose, and progress in Central Indiana. At CICF we believe in opportunity and equity. We believe that our communities and neighborhoods are stronger because of our diversity. And we believe that with innovation and boldness, Central Indiana can be a place where everyone can reach their full potential, no matter their place, race or identity. This is our community and these are your stories.

When veterans came home after World War II, the Indianapolis Far Eastside neighborhood grew by leaps and bounds. There were jobs at Western Electric, Chrysler, and Ford.

LATOYA TAHIROU: It was much quieter. If you look at now and then, you would allow your kids to go outside and play comfortably.

LaToya Tahirou grew up on the Far Eastside. She lives here now. But life is different for LaToya’s own three children.

LATOYA TAHIROU: This neighborhood has definitely changed. There is … there’s not a day that I don’t come home I don’t see police.

“…as LGBTQ people, you know what it’s like to be marginalized, you know what it’s like to be isolated. That’s where we find common ground and that’s where we start to build from there…we’re in a great position to where we can teach the majority community what it’s like to lead by example.” 

—Terrell Parker

June is Pride month, a worldwide celebration of the LGBTQ community. Indianapolis will host its own Indy Pride Festival with an estimated 100,000 people in attendance. But LGBTQ people still face struggles against homophobia and discrimination as well as issues that divide the diverse community.

In this month’s episode of For Good, two CICF ambassadors, Myranda Warden and Elle Roberts, and members of the LGBTQ community share their insights. Kit Malone from ACLU, Chris Handberg from Indy Pride, Terrell Parker from Indiana Pride of Color and Chris Paulsen from Indiana Youth Group all join the conversation for this episode.

If you enjoy this episode, subscribe to For Good through your favorite podcast app and leave us a review!

Transcription of episode available below.

WHO YOU’RE LISTENING TO

* Angela Cain – Angela Cain Communications

* Myranda Warden – CICF community ambassador

* Elle Roberts – CICF community ambassador

* Chris Handberg – executive director of Indy Pride

* Terrell Parker – founder of Indiana Pride of Color and interim executive director of Brothers United

* Kit Malone – transgender education and advocacy coordinator at the ACLU of Indiana

* Chris Paulsen – executive director of Indiana Youth Group

* Tim – former youth at Indiana Youth Group

DISCOVER MORE

* Indiana Youth Group

* Indy Pride

* Indiana Pride of Color

* ACLU of Indiana

* Movement Advancement Project: Indiana’s Equality Profile and LGBT Population

* The Landscape of LGBT Protections in Indiana from Freedom Indiana

* Learn more about our community ambassadors

Welcome to For Good, Central Indiana Community Foundation’s podcast, highlighting stories about passion, purpose, and progress in Central Indiana.

At CICF, we believe in opportunity and equity. We believe that our communities and neighborhoods are stronger because of our diversity. And we believe that with innovation and boldness, Central Indiana can be a place where everyone can reach their full potential, no matter their place, race, or identity.

This is our community, and these are your stories.

The Gay Rights Movement experienced a rapid growth in the quest for equality in the last two decades. With some 207,000 people in the LGBTQIA community living in Indiana, about 4% of our adult population, what challenges, joys, and hopes do they face here? And why are some of their struggles internal?

Hello, I’m Angela Cain,

People from more than 120 nations call Central Indiana home. They have left their home countries to start a new life as immigrants and refugees. This special episode of For Good, features representatives from the immigrant and refugee communities discussing their hopes and fears about living in Indianapolis. Leaders from two organizations that support resettlement will also weigh-in on the realities of life in America for these residents.

If you enjoy this episode, subscribe to For Good through your favorite podcast app and leave us a review!

Transcription of episode available below.

WHO YOU’RE LISTENING TO

Angela Cain – Angela Cain Communications

Ally Mulumba Ntumba – CICF community ambassador & case manager at Exodus Refugee

Cole Varga – executive director at Exodus Refugee

Terri Morris Downs – executive director at Immigrant Welcome Center

Dabrice Bartet – CICF community ambassador

Graham Melendez – natural helper at Immigrant Welcome Center

DISCOVER MORE

Immigrant Welcome Center

-view detailed statistics in their Indianapolis Immigration Integration Plan here

Exodus Refugee

-learn facts and figures about refugees here

Learn more about our community ambassadors

Woman finds dream job through Exodus Refugee – a story from 2017 about Priscilla Lalthanmawii and her 12-year-old son 

Welcome to, For Good, Central Indiana Community Foundation’s podcast, highlighting stories about passion, purpose and progress in Central Indiana. At CICF, we believe in opportunity and equity. We believe that our communities and neighborhoods are stronger because of our diversity. And we believe that with innovation and boldness, central Indiana can be a place where everyone can reach their full potential, no matter their place, race or identity. This is our community and these are your stories.

Imagine fleeing for your life from your homeland or choosing to move to a new country. Nearly 90,000 foreign born residence have braved that unpredictable journey and made Marion County their home. They are refugees and immigrants, some of them CICF Ambassadors.

I’m Angela Cain, your host for this special episode of, For Good. You’ll hear what it takes for them to build a new life in Central Indiana, stories of joy, challenges and hope, and learn what they fear most. CICF believes, when we listen, we learn.

ALI: Our appointment is tomorrow.

Ali Mulumba Ntumba is at work in Indianapolis today, happy to be here from the first moment he stepped foot in America in 2013, as a refugee.

What was it like to come to America?

ALI: To come to America was for me, to get a safe place and also to be in peace.

To be safe, to have peace, something Ali says many Americans may take for granted.

At 29th and Clifton, near Riverside, there’s a sense of collaboration, unity and pride. It’s a place where neighbors look out for each other and not-for-profit organizations passionately amplify the gifts and assets of the community’s youth and young adults. In this month’s episode of For Good, CICF ambassador and resident, DeAmon Harges, along with a few of his neighbors, highlight the talents and opportunities of their community.

If you enjoy this episode, subscribe to For Good through your favorite podcast app and leave us a review!

Transcription of episode available below.

WHO YOU’RE LISTENING TO

Kim Jacobs – WFYI Media

Diop Adisa – Kheprw Institute

Phyllis Boyd – executive director of Groundwork Indy

DeAmon Harges – CICF community ambassador

Luke Hazelton – GroundCorp member at Groundwork Indy

Brandon Baker – GroundCorp member at Groundwork Indy

Jamahl Crouch – GroundCorp member at Groundwork Indy and artist (view his work on Instagram)

Wildstyle – resident and photographer (view his work on Instagram and in the slides below)

DISCOVER MORE

Groundwork Indy

Kheprw Institute

Learn more about our community ambassadors

WHERE IS CLIFTON-RIVERSIDE?

Click to enlarge map. Map created by Naplab. Learn more about the map and where you can get one for yourself here.

PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD PROVIDED BY WILDSTLYE

Welcome to For Good, Central Indiana Community Foundation’s podcast, highlighting stories about passion, purpose and progress in Central Indiana.

At CICF, we believe in opportunity and equity. We believe that our communities and neighborhoods are stronger because of our diversity. And we believe that with innovation and boldness, Central Indiana can be a place where everyone can reach their full potential, no matter their place, race or identity.

This is our community and these are your stories.

It began as a streetcar suburb. In Indianapolis’ northwest Riverside neighborhood, stores clustered at its busiest corners. American foursquares and bungalows still grace tree-lined streets.

DEAMON: If you’re on Clifton, if you’re on Riverside, if you’re on Boulevard, they all have a particular flavor. But there’s also a strand, a thread that makes you feel like it’s all one neighborhood.

The construction of I-65 brought change. Instead of traveling through the neighborhood, the public began traveling over it, overlooking the nearly 7,500 people who live and work here.

DEAMON: This is an area that’s experienced chronic disinvestment, the result of institutional racism. There is a high rate of incarceration of re-entry folks. The annual income for a family is well below the median. So a lot of people wanting to live in a place that’s great and life-enhancing, just like anybody else, but having a lot of barriers to get there.

In the northwest Riverside neighborhood, DeAmon Harges is known as the roving listener.

DEAMON: One of the things that we know, we need each other. Right? And so we have to practice that.

Last year, CICF worked with a local agency, Smallbox, to train 36 representatives of different neighborhoods and population groups as ambassadors for their communities. Each ambassador conducted a listening tour to gather residents’ concerns, excitements and hopes.

These conversations, along with national and regional data, have helped shape CICF’s commitment to dismantle barriers and build more pathways for everyone in the community to reach their full potential, no matter their place, race or identity. On this month’s episode of For Good, meet a few of the ambassadors and find out how their work is fundamentally transforming CICF’s goals and initiatives.

If you enjoy this episode, subscribe to For Good through your favorite podcast app and leave us a review!

Transcription of episode available below.

WHO YOU’RE LISTENING TO

Kim Jacobs – WFYI Media

Liz Tate – vice president of community investment at CICF

Tamara Winfrey-Harris – vice president of marketing and communications at CICF

Rob MacPherson – vice president of development and philanthropic services

Annie Smith – CICF community ambassador representing the Far Eastside and Lawrence neighborhoods

Valerie Davis – CICF community ambassador representing the St. Clair Place neighborhood

Darrin Orr – CICF community ambassador representing the Northeast Corridor

Beatrice Beverly – CICF community ambassador representing the Martindale Brightwood neighborhood

Alicia Collins – community collaborations director at CICF

DISCOVER MORE

The G. I. Bill Changed My Family’s Life – a note from Brian Payne, president and CEO of CICF, about race and opportunity

Smallbox – a creative agency focused on building cohesive brand experiences for mission-driven organizations

Welcome to For Good, Central Indiana Community Foundation’s podcast highlighting stories about passion, purpose, and progress in Central Indiana. At CICF, we believe in opportunity and equity. We believe that our communities and neighborhoods are stronger because of our diversity, and we believe that, with innovation and boldness, Central Indiana can be a place where everyone can reach their full potential, no matter their place, race, or identity. This is our community and these are your stories.

LIZ: I like to say we opened the doors and windows of the foundation and allowed the residents to actually become very engaged.

Central Indiana Community Foundation is making a promise. Its new five-year strategic plan dismantles barriers and builds more pathways for everyone in our community to reach their full potential, no matter their place, race or identity.

ALICIA: It’s important to us that we do things with the community and not to the community, so we wanted to make sure that we were listening to people all over Marion County and Hamilton County.

CICF’s goals: Change systems, empower people and dismantle institutional racism, but the work of pursuing equity cannot be accomplished by any foundation working alone.

ROB: We kind of went to the, you know, the people that we knew in the not-for-profit area and some neighborhood leaders that we knew, but then we said to them, ‘who do you know?’ It’s not that we don’t want you, a neighborhood leader, we want the insiders, the unknown grassroots leaders in your community. I would say we probably didn’t know 80% of the ambassadors that came to us. They were never on our radar screen before.

We’ll be back next month with a brand new season of our podcast focused on exploring Central Indiana’s neighborhoods and the residents that make them thrive. You’ll learn about transformation happening on Indianapolis’ Far Eastside, what life is like for Central Indiana’s immigrant communities, plans for affordable housing in Hamilton County and much more.

If you enjoy this episode, subscribe to For Good through your favorite podcast app and leave us a review!

There is no shortage of senior-serving organizations in Hamilton County, yet many seniors still struggle to get the help they need in a convenient and efficient manner. To meet the needs of this growing population, Legacy Fund has committed to financially supporting and convening partners for a new project of Shepherd’s Center of Hamilton County called, Reaching Resources. This program will provide better access to services with one call to one place.

If you enjoy this episode, subscribe to “For Good” through your favorite podcast app and leave us a review!

WHO YOU’RE LISTENING TO

Kim Jacobs – WFYI Media

Gloria and Ed Morehouse – retirees in Sheridan

Brittany Rayburn – director of development at Legacy Fund

Lauren Guynn – executive director of The Shepherd’s Center of Hamilton County

Carolyn Omori – The Shepherd’s Center of Hamilton County in Sheridan

DISCOVER MORE

In March, 2017, Legacy Fund announced a partnership with Shepherd’s Center of Hamilton County for its community leadership initiative, Reaching Resources

Why did more people in Indiana die by suicide than by car accident in 2015? Why is depression more prevalent in women than men? Women’s Fund of Central Indiana, a special interest fund of CICF, recently brought Campaign to Change Direction to Indiana to initiate important conversations about mental health. On this month’s episode of “For Good,” learn more about how Women’s Fund is convening nine cities, seven hospitals, 46 college campuses and several businesses and organizations to make mental health a priority in Indiana.

If you enjoy this episode, subscribe to “For Good” through your favorite podcast app and leave us a review!

WHO YOU’RE LISTENING TO

Kim Jacobs – WFYI Media

Dr. Virginia Caine – director of the Marion County Health Department

Scott Fadness – mayor of Fishers

Jennifer Pope Baker – executive director of Women’s Fund of Central Indiana

Angela Jordan – life coach

Joe Hogsett – mayor of Indianapolis

Dr. Sue Ellspermann – president of Ivy Tech

DISCOVER MORE

Women’s Fund of Central Indiana

Campaign to Change Direction: the national campaign to change the culture of mental health in America

This month’s episode of, “For Good” introduces a transformative workshop presented by Child Advocates called, Undoing Racism. For several Marion and Hamilton county agencies, this innovative program is changing business as usual…opening eyes, hearts and minds of staff and volunteers. Over the course of the last year, all CICF employees and board members have participated in the two-day workshop. Listen to hear how the workshop is reshaping our work in the community.

If you enjoy this episode, subscribe to “For Good” through your favorite podcast app and leave us a review!

WHO YOU’RE LISTENING TO

Kim Jacobs – WFYI Media

Diana Dunn – founding member of The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond

Cindy Booth – executive director of Child Advocates of Marion County

Dustin Washington – facilitator with The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond

Brian Payne – president and CEO of CICF

Tamara Winfrey-Harris – vice-president of marketing and communications at CICF

Pamela Ross – community investment officer at CICF

Judge Marilyn Moores – Marion County superior court, chair of juvenile division

DISCOVER MORE

Learn about future Undoing Racism workshops with Child Advocates

The Other American Dream: Social Mobility, Race and Opportunity from The Brookings Institution

The G.I. Bill Changed My Family’s Life by Brian Payne

African Americans and the G.I. Bill from Wikipedia