Vitality grant awarded to Indiana’s only recovery high school to address critical gap in recovery support for youth with substance use disorders
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Hope Academy, Indiana’s only recovery high school, has received a Vitality Grant in the amount of $280,000 from Mental Health America of Indiana. This grant, which will be used during the 2023-2024 school year, will significantly enhance and deepen Hope Academy’s recovery curriculum and wraparound services to improve outcomes for students and address the treatment gap in programs in Marion County and surrounding communities.
“This funding from Mental Health America is a game-changer in the services we will now be able to provide to our students,” said Hope Academy Executive Director Rachelle Gardner. “Since opening Hope Academy nearly two decades ago, the number of treatment programs across the state has diminished, leaving our youth with limited access to care. The wraparound support this grant will fund will make a substantial impact on our students’ overall health and wellness. We are truly grateful.”
Through this grant, Hope Academy will hire one full-time therapist to provide therapy to students and parents onsite, contract with an occupational therapist to guide students through a 12-week curriculum twice a year, and hire two peer recovery coaches to offer daily recovery support to students. Hope Academy will also pilot and implement a program to educate middle school students who are using substances as an early intervention strategy to prevent suspension and expulsion.
As Hope Academy works to fill a critical gap in addiction treatment and recovery services for Indiana youth, additional funding like this grant from Mental Health America makes a significant impact in reducing multiple barriers for Hope Academy students. Hope Academy is a tuition-free public charter high school and offers the same academic curriculum as other public high schools across the state but unlike other high schools, the standard curriculum is supplemented by recovery programming.
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Media Contact:
Ty Spisak, Hope Academy Communications Consultant
317.517.8867 | tspisak@hopeacademyrhs.org