PAOLI — Amidst widening gaps in rural mental health care, Southern Indiana nonprofit Team Peace has announced a new research initiative to evaluate the long-term impact of its youth emotional well-being and resilience programming.
The extensive project is funded through an investment from the Valinhos Foundation, a private family foundation dedicated to improving youth and family mental health landscapes across Indiana.
Team Peace will partner with Indiana University Southeast and lead researcher Dr. Melissa Fry to study how its curriculum—which focuses on emotional regulation, nervous system education, and leadership development—affects students, families, and schools. While the organization primarily targets kindergarten through eighth-grade students, the study will examine broader community-wide impacts.
The research initiative launches at a critical moment for Southern Indiana school districts and municipalities grappling with highly interconnected socio-economic challenges. Inside classrooms, districts face rising rates of disruptive student behavior, emotional dysregulation, and severe teacher burnout.
Beyond school walls, local families are navigating severe chronic stress. According to data cited by the organization:
- High Childhood Trauma: In a regional study of 1,148 students in grades 7–12, 29.5% reported an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) score of 4 or more—a threshold linked directly to toxic stress and high-risk behaviors.
- Economic & Family Strain: Local metrics compiled by Thrive Orange County reveal that 72.7% of residents fear child neglect, and 73.2% fear a caregiver facing incarceration. Furthermore, educators report that roughly 14% of K–6 students regularly return home to empty houses after school.
- Substance Use & Incarceration: Figures from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department noted 27 drug-related incarcerations during September 2024 alone, a figure officials identified as a typical baseline month for the county.
Critical Shortages in Mental Health Care
The mandate for preventative, school-based programs is worsened by extreme healthcare disparities in rural Indiana.
As a state, Indiana currently ranks 41st in the nation for mental illness and 43rd for overall access to care. In rural pockets like Orange and Crawford counties, that lack of access reaches critical levels.
Mental Health Provider-to-Resident Ratios:
- Statewide Indiana Average: 1: 560
- Crawford County: 1: 1,490
- Orange County: 1: 1,510
Because of these steep ratios, families frequently wait months for traditional intervention services, making early, trauma-responsive education in classrooms a vital safety net.
Moving Toward Sustainable Solutions
By anchoring its programming in academic research, Team Peace aims to establish accountability and build an evidence-based roadmap that other rural communities can replicate across the country.
“This opportunity means more to us than we can fully put into words,” said Hannah Pendley, Assistant Director of Team Peace. “To have people who believe in this mission enough to invest not only in our programs, but in understanding and strengthening their impact long term, is incredibly meaningful. This research represents growth, accountability, and hope.”
Kara Schmidt, Executive Director of Team Peace, echoed the sentiment, noting that the data collected alongside IU Southeast will shape future educational funding and guide best practices for school administration. “This research allows us… to continue learning how we can support young people, families, schools, and communities in more meaningful and sustainable ways for years to come,” Schmidt said.
For more information on the initiative or to learn more about trauma-responsive community practices, visit BeTeamPeace.org or contact Kara Schmidt at 574-536-4407 or email beteampeace@gmail.com.
