When Edward Rickenbach first joined Goodwill in 2009 as an assistant site leader, he was struggling with homelessness and severe depression — a diagnosis he had first received in college but learned would be a lifelong battle. In just 18 months, he worked hard and was promoted to site leader, where he was responsible for managing the store and all of its employees.

In 2015, Amber Burleson, PMHNP-BC and her husband moved from Tennessee to Indianapolis where Amber began working as a bilingual NFP Nurse with Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana’s Nurse-Family Partnership® (NFP) serving mothers whose first language is Spanish.  Amber enjoyed her work as a bilingual nurse home visitor and quickly realized at the base of everything were mental health needs.  

Laura Torres moved to Indiana at 22 years old without an education and spoke only Spanish. Today, Laura speaks fluent English, is finishing her high school diploma through The Excel Center®, Goodwill’s tuition-free high school for adults, and is pursuing a degree in psychology after she graduates.

Even before the mass outbreak of COVID-19, the World Health Organization had declared 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, and the American Nurses Association extended the traditional National Nurses Week to a month of recognition in May. Did you know that Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana employs over 60 nurses? 

Amber Copley is a proud high school graduate at the age of 23. She initially dropped out of school when she was a junior in high school, at the age of 16, due to emotional and financial difficulties.

Mental Health Matters

About one in seven women will experience some type of mood or anxiety disorder during pregnancy or through the first year postpartum. While depression and anxiety are common, pregnant and postpartum women can experience a myriad of mental health conditions, including panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder and, in rare cases, psychosis.