Indianapolis, IN – St. Luke’s United Methodist Church

CDF asked children, college students and caregivers to “freedom dream” with us. At every site, our partners from the Ink Factory situated a big whiteboard with colorful sticky notes to visually capture what we heard.

About the Site

In Indiana, we visited the CDF Freedom Schools® site at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Indianapolis. There, parents, caregivers, and Servant Leader Interns (SLIs) discussed the struggles facing young families in their community and schools. Participants voiced urgent concerns about community violence and its effects on their children. They also highlighted the rising cost of living and how it impacts their ability to provide for their families, including challenges with enrolling their children in afterschool programs.

During the Indianapolis listening session, participants highlighted several pressing concerns and ideas for community improvement:

Violence: A need for safe havens, more restrictive gun laws, and therapy for children affected by violence.
Education and Afterschool Programs: Calls for more inclusive education policies, access to fresh food, and programs tailored to minority youth.
Financial and Parental Support: Emphasis on providing resources like childcare, food, financial literacy, and wrap-around services for families slightly above income thresholds.
Community Engagement: Advocating for greater involvement in children’s lives, with a focus on literacy, culturally relevant materials, and diverse conversations to address community needs.

Young girl holding her sibling on her lap.

The State of America’s Children® in

Indiana

Explore data for the children living in Indiana, including indicators related to child poverty, health, education, welfare, and more.

Learn More

Participant Quotes

Markeith Young
Parent of scholar

“Violence, right? Like the community I live in, I think about suicide rates and I think about drug overdoses. I think about what that does for families. So, what I believe about the emotional intelligence piece, kids have a hard time connecting with reality. And, so, when you have to face reality, you don’t know how to respond, right? Whether that when your feelings got hurt or whatever the case may be. And, I think that, this may be controversial, but we have an educational system that teaches that everything is rosy. It teaches that everything is okay. So, our kids aren’t prepared a lot of times outside of the academic portion, but just the life portion, they’re not prepared when things happen. So, you take your fantasy world, you try to marry it with reality and that’s when explosions happen.”

Kendrick Mernitz
SLI

“The anti-trans legislation that has been passing, or has been trying to pass, like House Bil 1291, some of the other pieces that are negatively impacting queer youth mental health and creating greater destabilized, just in generally, attitudes for LGBT youth.”