When Jesse Hendrickson first walked into Goodwill for his court-ordered community service in 2016, he was homeless and recovering from a decade-long drug addiction that had isolated him from his family. 

Goodwill’s Nurse-Family Partnership currently includes over 60 nurses and nurse supervisors who serve at-risk women and their families across 29 central and southern Indiana counties. When first implemented in 2011, there was a single team of eight nurses who served families living in Marion county. Marilynn Berry-Stamm was the first nurse to join that team. 

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? 

The past few weeks have been difficult for the entire nation. Indiana, especially, has been tested like no other time in recent memory as our state continues to observe stay-at-home orders and practice social distancing. While this has certainly been challenging, individuals across the state are doing the right things to flatten the curve, beat COVID-19 and save lives.

Being a first-time mom can be so many things — stressful, nerve-wracking, terrifying — the list goes on. For Laketta Booker, 26, it was all of those things until she enrolled in Goodwill's Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP)® and met her nurse, Ketta Mason.

Launched in 2011, Goodwill’s Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) program pairs first-time, low-income moms with a registered nurse who makes home visits through pregnancy and up until a child’s second birthday. In February 2020, we celebrated 3,000 babies born as part of the program, along with families like the Deahls, whose lives were changed significantly after the arrival of their son, Allistor.

Goodwill’s Nurse-Family Partnership® (NFP) pairs first-time mothers with a registered nurse for ongoing home visits aimed at providing the best start for their children during the earliest, most developmentally critical years. NFP is an international, community health program, widely researched and recognized for increasing health care access and improving health outcomes.

This fall, Goodwill TalentSource® hosted a job fair for Nurse-Family Partnership® participants and their families. TalentSource helps individuals advance their skills through training, coaching and certifications, as well as prepares candidates for placement in fields such as healthcare, manufacturing and IT. Nurse-Family Partnership pairs first-time, low-income mothers with a registered nurse to support a healthy pregnancy and beyond.

Kee Lab moved to Indiana in 2014 after living in a refugee camp in Thailand. Once her family settled in the Indianapolis area, Kee set out to understand American culture and to learn English. Shortly after she started attending her new high school, she found out that she was pregnant.