By Curtis Smith
Lasting Change Chief Marketing & Communications Officer

PIERCETON — On Nov. 28, the IndyStar, in collaboration with ProPublica, published an article purporting to expose abuse at Pierceton Woods Academy, a residential youth facility.

Subsequently, the article has been published by other media entities. The authors build a case upon misinformation, false numbers, and misleading statements. It is unfortunate that certain actors seek to undermine and stop the positive work of helping young men, which has been taking place for more than five decades.

In 1968, a group of people in northeastern Indiana came together to provide a home for boys in need of help. Like many non-profit organizations, the start was slow, and the numbers were small, but steadily the impact grew, and lives began to improve. New opportunities came about and the small, Christian not-for-profit expanded services, hoping to help as many people as possible. More than 55 years later, that organization, now known as Lasting Change, still a faith-based, non-profit serving people every hour of every day, helps thousands of people each year, in every county of Indiana, through a continuum of care that covers a wide variety of mental health services.

The name has changed, and scope of the work has grown, but the organization’s mission remains: to change hearts and bring hope to individuals, families, and communities. Over the decades, the work has expanded to include family preservation services and other home-based offerings, as well as private counseling, but around-the-clock residential services are still at the heart of an organization which emulates the model Jesus taught when he shared how the shepherd leaves the 99 sheep to chase after and rescue the one lost sheep.

What started with serving a handful of boys has multiplied, and in 2022, the Lasting Change family of organizations, which is made up of Lifeline Youth & Family Services, Crosswinds Counseling, Wheatfield Academy, Pierceton Woods Academy, and Spencer Home, provided direct care to nearly 15,000 people with the ripple effect of those services helping thousands more. The growth continues and 2023 will end with nearly 750,000 hours of direct mental health care provided to Hoosiers statewide.

The work is challenging and requires vigilant oversight of both staff and policies. It is not always easy, but neither is standing in the gap for a population shunned by society. At Pierceton Woods Academy, a few alleged staff choices have received a lot of attention, but the challenging work of faithfully providing therapeutic treatment for boys who were victims long before making mistakes of their own, goes largely ignored. Doing the right thing, every minute of every day, week after week, month after month, and year after year, is not flashy and does not make for attention-grabbing headlines.

However, it does produce amazing life transformation. The success stories of Pierceton Woods Academy start with boys unable to live at home and end with educated young men able to hold jobs, live on their own, serve other people, and become responsible, productive members of society. Over the years, thousands of lives have been positively impacted by millions of hours of selfless dedication from the staff of Pierceton Woods Academy.

When administered with the love of Jesus at it score and the word of God as its foundation, the demanding work has the potential to go well beyond the here and now and have an eternal impact for generations to come. The Christian heritage of Lasting Change is not merely a nod to the past, nor is it simply a talking point. As they always have, those Christian beliefs continue to provide the foundation of who the organization is and why it provides mental health services. No organization is perfect, but with a commitment to Biblical teachings and a desire to help individuals succeed, families thrive, and communities prosper, Lasting Change will continue to spend every day helping and serving as many people as possible.

The efforts to produce and build up responsible and productive citizens is difficult work, and misleading reports only serve to make it more challenging. Recently, these attacks, combined with the inherent challenges, have caused three of our competitors to either go out of business or stop serving certain groups of young people across Indiana. That reality has not made Indiana safer. Lasting Change desires to stay the course and continue the commitment to young men from across Indiana, but we need help in making sure the truth is told.

Pierceton Woods Academy Fact Sheet

• Over 3,550 youth served
• Over 17 million positive interactions
• Over two million meals served
• 23,048 high school credits earned
• Over 16,000 vocational class hours in the following specialties: small engines, horticulture, apiculture, CNC machining, construction tech, and culinary arts
• Over 250,000 hours of group and family therapy
• Nearly 200,000 hours of individual counseling sessions
• Over 2,200 youths discharged to a less restrictive environment
• Nearly 900 youths returned to their families