Plainfield Magazine April 2021

MAGAZINE

APRIL 2021

Local Moms Discuss Raising a Baby During a Pandemic GOT YOUR BACK Community Chiropractic Helps Clients Through a Wide Range of Services BRIGHTER PATH Sheltering Wings Provides Hope for Those Affected by Domestic Abuse

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G OT YOUR B ACK Co m m u ni t y C h i roprac tic H e lps Clie nts Thro u g h a Wi de R ange of Se r v ice s chiropractic care, and nutritional support.

Writer / Jamie Hergott Photography Provided

Dr. Vicki Danis is extremely passionate about her work providing chiropractic care and acupuncture. Often her work is misunderstood as simply cracking necks and causing pain with needles, and she wants to set the record straight.

“Chiropractic care is really about making your body work better,” Danis says. “There are very gentle ways to adjust patients, and it’s always to the patient’s comfort level.”

Danis owns and operates Community Chiropractic in Avon, with an easygoing personality and genuine love for her job. She opened her full-service office in June of 2009, making this her twelfth year in Avon. She and her doctors offer acupuncture, chiropractic care, pediatric chiropractic care, pregnancy

What sets her apart from others is that her office is the only allfemale chiropractic office in Hendricks County. While much of her client base is female, her particular niche is pregnancy and pediatric care, although she sees men and children as well.

“We take care of everyone,” Danis says. “You do not have to be a female to be in our office. We take a well-rounded approach to everyone’s care here.”

Many clients come in during their gestational period or if they’re having postpartum issues. Danis also works with newborns who have issues like colic, torticollis, ear infections or tongue-tie issues. She treats children and adults with sleep concerns, scoliosis, and many other issues due to injuries, posture and age.

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Three years ago she added acupuncture to her list of services, to better serve clients.

“It’s really a great adjunct to what we already do here,” Danis says. “It offers patients a different level of comfort and care. I understand not everyone is comfortable with the chiropractic approach.”

Danis says in general, her philosophy is very preventive, and the idea is to make clients’ bodies work better.

“Your body is a welloiled machine,” Danis says. “We also know it can be temperamental.

I always compare it to a car. You know when the car is not working properly and needs to be checked out. Bodies are a similar type of thing.”

Stiffness, soreness and pain are all ways the body communicates that something is not working the way it should. Her treatment and recommendations for life outside of the office are designed to get bodies functioning better for the long term.

“Every person gets a custom, tailored plan,” Danis says. “It’s not the same for everyone. Our care is conservative.”

Danis sees clients from all over Indianapolis, and some from as far as Noblesville and Beech Grove. A doctor’s referral is not needed for an appointment. First appointments usually last about one hour. Danis goes over health history, discusses concerns, finds out what activities are bothersome, and even addresses the patient’s hesitations about chiropractic care.

“We do adjust at the first visit, assuming that’s what you want,” Danis says. “It is completely understandable for you to have concerns coming here, based on the fanatical cracking you see on TV, TikTok and the movies. I assure you, light pressure can get great results.”

Her first priority is always educating the patient. Danis is passionate when it comes to teaching people how their

bodies work, and how they’re supposed to work. She says it’s a common myth that people will feel better after just one appointment.

“You didn’t get this way in one day,” she says of patients’ issues. “You can’t go to the gym one time and look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. It takes time to reach a level of improvement.

We use acupuncture, and sometimes even an herbology and herbalist approach, to get your body to do what it’s supposed to more rapidly or safely without getting medications.”

In Danis’ experience, primary medical practitioners are not always acquainted with nutritional therapy or nonpharmaceutical herbal therapy. She says there are many options, as every person’s biological chemistry is different. She loves the process of getting to know her patients and figuring out what may work for them.

“I geek out on this stuff,” Danis says. “I love that I get to treat an enormous amount of different types of people.”

She sees everything from post-oncology patients to the sore back of a 95-year-old to a tongue-tied newborn. She feels there is not much she can’t help with her methods. Often, her office is a client’s last resort before considering surgery for a problem.

If she can’t help, she has no problem helping patients determine

PlainfieldMag.com / APRIL 2021 / PLAINFIELD MAGAZINE / 7

their best course of action and referring them out of her office.

“Some things are so broken down, there’s no coming back from that,” Danis says.

Danis knew she wanted to be a doctor from the time she was 2 years old. In high school, she began exploring different areas of medicine. She determined she did not want to be a medical doctor because of the extensive schooling. She wanted a specialty that involved a sound education, and also one that would allow her to start her career in a timely manner. She considered optometry, ophthalmology, podiatry, dentistry and even veterinary work. She finally shadowed her own chiropractor one day, and loved what she saw.

“I got a beautiful view of all the different things he can help patients with,” Danis says. “Migraines, high blood pressure,

doesn’t feel like work to me. I come here, we have fun and I love all of my patients.

I love helping people who want to help themselves.”

foot pain, shoulder pain, etcetera.”

Danis herself has seen a chiropractor since she was 12 years old. Her mom went regularly and Danis thought it looked fun, so she began going too. Even now she sees a chiropractor twice per month, and even sees the doctors in her office on occasion.

Community Chiropractic is located at 7651 East U.S. Highway 36 in Avon. For more info, call 317-272-7988 or visit communitychiroavon.com.

“I don’t know what it’s like to have a life of pain,” Danis says. “I just get it fixed.

Why wouldn’t I utilize the tools I have?

This is what I preach to my patients every single day.”

Danis is always learning from her patients, and she loves building relationships with them. From hunters to teenage athletes to new moms, Danis loves teaching and empowering clients to feel better and live their best lives.

“I really do love my job,” Danis says. “It

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Writer / Josh Duke Photography Provided

I’m all about doing plenty of research before I visit a new community. I make a list of must-sees, but I also try and add a few places off the beaten path.

In my time here at Visit Hendricks County overseeing our local blog that features all the latest happenings, I’ve compiled a list of places here in Hendricks County that many of our locals may not even know about, which I would highly recommend visiting.

HE R E A R E FIV E OF T HOSE PLAC E S:

OF F TH E BE ATEN PAT H E X P LO R E F I V E O F H E N D R I C K S C O U N T Y ’ S H I D D E N - G E M AT T R AC T I O N S

Burnett Woods Nature Preserve Where is it? 8264 East County Road 100 South in Avon Where can I park? Behind Light and Life Methodist Church​ Who would love it? Hikers, families, and those with a case of wildflower fever who want to get away from it all.

This 68-acre wooded nature preserve is the county’s only dedicated state nature preserve, and is managed by the Central Indiana Land Trust. This is a great place to take the kids on a hike and teach them about trees and wildflowers. It is preserved as an example of what was once common in this region, and what our ancestors encountered when they arrived in central Indiana.

Despite its location in the middle of bustling Avon with development popping up all around it, many residents aren’t even aware this little hidden oasis exists.

Hot Blown Glass Where is it? 3717 South County Road 200 East in Clayton Phone: 317-987-6862 Who would love it? Virtually anyone, as it is truly fascinating to find out how glass works of art are made.

Recently we featured Hot Blown Glass on our blog, as one of my colleagues here has made it an annual ritual to take her granddaughter there for a fun girls’ day

APRIL 2021

out. How many of you even knew we had an Indiana glass artist right here in Hendricks County?

Indiana Artisan Lisa Pelo owns the private studio, and the great thing about Pelo is that she doesn’t keep this precious attraction, or her glass talents, to herself. Visitors can participate in demonstrations, workshops and even classes to try the intricate art of glass work, by creating a simple piece like a paperweight or pumpkin on their own under Pelo’s direct guidance.

Guests usually come away floored by the experience, and the art they create without any previous experience.

Don't just show up on her doorstep, as appointments are required. Call the number above and talk to Pelo before making any plans.

Rusted Silo Southern BBQ & Brew House Where is it? 411 North State Street in Lizton Phone: 317-994-6145 Who would love it? Foodies, barbecue lovers, beer drinkers and virtually anyone who likes to eat - which means everyone.

APRIL 2021

If you haven’t heard of or visited Rusted Silo yet, you are missing out on a true destination restaurant that draws people from all over the region, and has won many awards.

Like any great dive, Rusted Silo doesn’t look like much from the outside - it’s a small building nestled next to a railroad track in tiny Lizton. But what it lacks in first appearances, it more than makes up for in ambience and amazing food.

The eatery is owned by Rob Ecker, a former Disney chef, who moved into the county a few years ago with his family.

Having always wanted to start his own barbecue restaurant, he directed all of his savings into this new venture. We all should be glad he did.

The restaurant just recently reopened after a fire gutted much of the interior space last year, but Rusted Silo is a survivor. Make

APRIL 2021

sure you check out their Ferris Wheel of Meat and arrive with an empty stomach.

Avon Gardens Where is it? 6259 East County Road 91 North in Avon Phone: 317-272-6264 Who would love it? Gardeners, landscapers, dreamers and newlyweds.

Another true gem in our county, the gardens are hidden away in Avon and many residents may not know they exist.

What’s amazing about this tranquil hideaway, which has become a regional destination, is its background.

Not too long ago, many people driving by this piece of land may have considered it an eyesore, as it was a literal pigsty. Karen Robbins transformed the former 10-acre pig farm, beginning about 25 years ago, into a scenic inspiration, one plant at a time. It now serves as part garden center,

part inspirational gardens, and a fulltime event venue that hosts hundreds of weddings, receptions and group outings annually.

This attraction boasts flowing gardens, a beautiful pond and even a picturesque ravine. It even graced the pages of “Midwest Living” magazine a year or two ago as one of the top garden centers in the Midwest.

Vandalia Trail Where is it? The trail runs from Amo through Coatesville to the HendricksPutnam county line. There is a portion of the trail that also runs through Plainfield as part of the town’s trail system, but it is not connected to the trail that continues westward.

• Amo Trailhead: 5042 South Street in Amo • Coatesville Trailhead: 7963 Main Street in Coatesville

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Who would love it? Outdoor enthusiasts, hikers, horseback riders, walkers and families.

Embrace the outdoors by walking or biking the four-mile rail trail that runs along the route of the former Vandalia Railroad. An aggregate equestrian trail runs parallel to the pedestrian trail. Enjoy the scenery of rural Hendricks County and utilize the modern restrooms, water fountains and bicycle repair stations at each trailhead. *** This is a mere sampling of all the wonderful information we have for both residents and visitors at Visit Hendricks County. Sign up for our newsletter, subscribe to our insider blog , and check out more great content at VisitHendricksCounty.com.

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H OW TO B E M I N D F U L O F YO U R M E N TA L H E A LT H A S A F I R S T-T I M E M OT H E R While postpartum baby blues can last for up to two weeks after delivery, new moms may also experience a more severe and longlasting form of depression called postpartum Stepping into a new role as a first-time depression. Symptoms of postpartum mother can bring a range of emotions. Many depression may include excessive crying, women feel overwhelmed, depressed or difficulty bonding with your baby, severe anxious during their first pregnancy, and even mood swings, sleeping too much or too after delivery. Below are three tips for looking little, and lack of interest in activities you after your mental health, while also looking used to enjoy. It’s important to understand after your new bundle of joy. that experiencing postpartum baby blues or depression is not a weakness as a mother.

LEARN ABOUT Schedule an appointment with your doctor P O S T PA R T U M if you begin to experience symptoms of DEPRESSION. postpartum baby blues or depression.

There are many unknowns when it comes to being a first-time mother, including MAKE TIME FOR how pregnancy and childbirth will affect YO U R S E L F. your mental health. After childbirth, it is It’s nearly impossible to take care of someone common for most new moms to experience else if you aren’t taking care of yourself first. postpartum “baby blues.” Symptoms of Schedule time for activities you enjoy a postpartum baby blues may include mood few times per week. Whether it’s taking a swings, anxiety, crying spells and difficulty bubble bath, reading a book or watching your sleeping.

Writer / Dr. Danielle Beaver, Obstetrician at IU Health West Hospital Photography Provided

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favorite show, it’s important to take some time for yourself.

LOW E R YO U R E X P E C TAT I O N S A N D USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA. As a new mom, you’ll experience unconditional love from your child. Your baby won’t notice if the house isn’t spotless or the laundry isn’t done. It’s important not to feel like everything must be perfect or that you have to do it all. Online shopping and delivery services can be a great resource.

Don’t be afraid to lean on friends and family for help.

While social media can be a great way for you to connect with other new moms, it can also be damaging to your mental health.

Motherhood, especially in the first few months, is messy, exhausting, difficult and not always pretty. Avoid the urge to compare yourself to other moms on social media.

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RUFF LYFE DOG TRAINING 7378 U.S. Highway 36 Coatesville, IN 765-721-0730 rufflyfedogtraining.com

Writer / Jamie Hergott Photography Provided

Ruff Lyfe Dog Training in Coatesville is a family-owned and -operated business that offers nearly any type of dog training, at any comfort level an owner could ask for.

Owner Megan Bonifacius was inspired years ago by her own challenging pets.

“They were horrible,” Bonifacius says. “They were great dogs in the house, but I couldn’t walk them. They’d pull my arm nearly out of its socket and leave leash burns. Seeking training for them inspired me to do it myself.”

She opened Ruff Lyfe Dog Training in Coatesville two years ago, and Ruff Lyfe Doggy Daycamp in Danville this past December.

Ruff Lyfe Dog Training offers in-home lessons, private or group lessons at the facility, and also a board-and-train option, where owners can drop off their dogs for two to six weeks at a time for training. Training is based on positive reinforcement and treats, as well as corrections on leashes and collars.

When owners come to pick up their dogs, they receive a lesson themselves on how to keep up with the training their dog received, and videos to take home. A follow-up lesson will take place, which involves a trainer visiting the owner’s home three weeks after their training to make sure the dogs are listening, and answer any follow-up questions.

There are three types of group classes beginner, advanced and traveling. Dogs who attend the latter class will be taken to various stores or hiking spots at parks for training in real-world situations.

APRIL 2021

Ruff Lyfe Doggy Daycamp is a facility where dogs of all breeds are welcome.

Bonifacius says what makes her day camp different is the level of cleanliness and safety.

All employees are trained in dog body language.

Each dog has a 5’x5’ kennel with their own bed, water bowl, and peanut butter Kong toy. She says this way, dogs have their own space and don’t have to share a

community water bowl, swapping germs with other dogs. Even when the dogs are let loose in 15-minute play groups with other dogs, there are two attendants on duty at all times.

Other services available at the day camp location include various training options (private and in-home lessons, group classes, and day school), and nail trims on the first Saturday of every month.

“We have eyes on every single dog at all times,” Bonifacius says. “They all wear slip collars so we can easily grab them if we have to. It’s just safer overall for dogs and people.”

“We’ll never tell someone we won’t train their dog,” Bonifacius says. “I’ve had a lot of people cry and pour their heart out to me that we’re their dog’s last hope. We are dog trainers, but we end up helping people too.”

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IU HEALTH WEST ENHANCING CAPACITY AND SERVICES WITH VERTICAL EXPANSION PROJECT Writer / Berkley Rios Photography Provided

Since late 2017, team members at IU Health West Hospital have been working diligently to open the hospital’s $84 million vertical expansion project.

The new expansion includes an additional 48 inpatient beds, a catheterization lab, two operating rooms, an inpatient dialysis unit, a new space for inpatient pharmacy services, and new kitchen and classroom areas. The expansion also includes additional parking.

president of IU Health West Hospital. “Data we used to green-light the expansion showed we were having to transfer 1,700 patients a year who had come to IU Health West for their care to other facilities, because we could not get that patient a bed in a timely fashion. The demand for IU Health-level quality care was there. We had to grow to meet that demand.”

With the new additions, the hospital’s inpatient capacity has increased by “Our community is growing by more than 50%. The new 14leaps and bounds - Hendricks bed intensive care unit and catheterization lab opened in County continues to be the second fastest-growing county September, and are located on the new fourth floor. in the state, and our ability to provide care to all the patients who need us has in the past Not only did the hospital been challenged by our expand its walls, but also its capacity,” says Paul Ivkovich, services. The new four-bay

APRIL 2021

dialysis unit allows patients to receive their treatment within the hospital walls. Before being able to receive dialysis at IU Health West, patients had to be transferred to other facilities.

“The ability to provide inpatient dialysis is a game changer,” Ivkovich says. “Until now, any inpatient who also needed dialysis support during their stay had to be transferred downtown - most of whom are patients with diagnoses we absolutely could have managed otherwise at IU Health West. This addition allows those patients and families to stay closer to home for their care. IU Health West provides the community’s only 24/7 STEMI program, so the cath lab expansion enhances our ability to care for heart attack patients around the clock.”

APRIL 2021

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Local Moms Discuss Raising a Baby During a Pandemic Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photography Provided by Ellen Joy Photography, Brittney Way Photography & Arrow of Light Photography

Over a century ago, Joanna Sproull’s great-grandparents lived through the 1918 pandemic. Her grandfather was 3 years old at the time, and now, 103 years later, Sproull and her husband Ben are living in the same Plainfield house, enduring a global pandemic themselves.

“When that bit of knowledge hit me, it gave me chills,” says Sproull, who was midway through her pregnancy in mid-March last year when COVID-19 became a reality. Almost immediately, routines began to change. For instance, she was told that her spouse could no longer accompany her to her doctor appointments.

“We felt lucky that we’d just had our 20-week ultrasound right before everything shut down so we got to experience that together,” Sproull says.

Sproull Family

Though she specifically asked her obstetrician if she needed to take any special precautions, it was difficult for physicians to know how to advise, given that the virus was so new. Mostly there was

APRIL 2021

talk of flattening the case curve, so as not to overwhelm hospital systems and health care workers. As a result, Sproull began to wonder if she should consult with a childbirth center or look into giving birth at home. An added concern was the fact that she had undergone heart surgery two years prior. The couple had also experienced the heartbreak of miscarriage, so when COVID-19 hit, they felt like they had endured a triple whammy.

Thankfully, everything went smoothly when Maggie entered the world on June 25. Though the couple was overjoyed to welcome their daughter into their family, they admit that parenthood has not been what they imagined it would be. For starters, no one visits.

“She only met seven people in her first six months of life,” Sproull says.

Disappointments started prior to Maggie’s birth, however. The first came when they had to transition Sproull’s baby shower to make it a virtual event.

“Nobody got to see my growing belly,” Sproull says. “In fact, a lot of our neighbors have asked if we adopted because they never saw me pregnant.”

Despite this surreal time, the couple is over the moon with being Maggie’s mom and dad.

“She’s made our world so much better,” Sproull says. “There’s nothing better than this sweet little baby. I’d go through everything 10 million times over just to have her.”

When Brownsburg mom Kristal Hellmann gave birth to her second child, Bernadette, on January 31, 2020, she and her husband Eric were worried about catching the flu since they had a newborn baby and a 3-year-old asthmatic son.

“Little did we know that halfway through my maternity leave, a global pandemic was going to break out,” Hellmann says.

She admits that in a way, she was sheltered from COVID-19 because she was living under a fog of a newborn.

She vividly recalls the moment pandemic panic set in. It was the end of March in 2020, Bernadette was 2 months old, and it was that time in history when coronavirus coverage was plastered across televisions and computer screens every day.

“Late one night, Bernadette had just given me her first smile followed by a bunch of coos,” Hellmann says. “She made real eye contact with me - not like in the early days when the baby’s looking up and you’re wondering if they’re staring at you or the ceiling fan. It was a nice, peaceful moment.”

Then Hellmann made the mistake of picking up her smartphone.

“I found myself doom-scrolling the internet, reading about how this pandemic is going to last for one to two years - disrupted production cycles, grocery stores not having stock of inventory, and having to wear APRIL 2021

masks in public,” Hellmann says. “It suddenly hit me, ‘This isn’t going away.’ ” During the spring of 2020, as doctors, scientists and other medical experts tried to determine what was safe, ever-evolving protocols made planning difficult. Hellmann recalls stressing because for a brief stretch of time, day cares and pediatrician offices were trying to adjust from previous Indiana state standards to adapt to new COVID-19 rules. Navigating this new world was confusing, as day cares required a doctor’s note for relatively benign symptoms.

Meanwhile, pediatricians’ offices were closed as so many weren’t sure how to monitor health and symptoms.

“I felt like I was in this terrible cycle of, ‘My baby can’t get sick because we can’t go to the doctor, yet we can’t go to the doctor to prove my baby’s not sick,’ ” Hellmann says.

Then there was the worry of missing developmental milestones.

While normal milestones include mimicking a smile, facial expression or tone, that’s hard to do when everyone outside the home is wearing masks.

“When Bernadette first started playing peekaboo, it was not in the traditional way with covering the eyes,” Hellmann says. “As soon as she sees me at day care, she takes off my mask and smiles when she sees my face. If that’s not a pandemic baby in a nutshell, I don’t know what is.”

Like many of us, Joyce Martin, a labor and delivery nurse at IU Health West Hospital, struggled - especially in the earlier stages of the pandemic - with having to wear a mask all day at work.

“A smile on my face is comforting and calming, and a way to let my patients know I’m there to provide the best of care,” Martin says.

“It’s challenging to communicate with my patients while most of my face is covered. I’ve found eyes also smile, and my patients can hear comfort and calmness in my voice.”

During the pandemic, moms have been deprived of social clubs like breastfeeding support groups, mommy-and-me classes, and play dates, as well as outings with friends and family. Hellmann, who had an annual membership to the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, had planned on spending much of her maternity leave in the facility’s Playscape area.

“There’s something magical about a 2020 baby,” Hellmann says.

“Watching them grow up, there’s that slight terror in the middle of the night when you think, ‘We just had a baby in this world - what are we going to do?’ But then that fades away and you’re left with that extra bit of hope.”

Avon mom Jaci McGrew gave birth to a daughter named Rosie in July of 2020. The child is McGrew and her husband PJ’s third. McGrew suffers from asthma, so she was terrified of contracting COVID-19 and having pregnancy complications as a result. Thankfully, the birth was smooth sailing. Right after delivery, however, scores of family and friends didn’t flood her hospital room to go gaga over the new bundle of joy, because hospital protocol prohibited it. According to Martin, most moms and dads have not minded this new policy of allowing only one guest into their room.

“New parents say they enjoy the one-on-one time to bond with their newborn baby,” Martin says. “They also feel they have more time for us [nurses] to teach them about newborn and postpartum care.”

Parents who have had babies prior to COVID-19 welcome the onevisitor rule as well because they don’t feel the pressure to entertain a parade of people.

“It’s giving them one-on-one time with their newborn, which

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“It has those windows where the sun shines in the morning, and that sand table,” she says. “I’d envisioned sitting on one of those nice, cushy benches with my sweet baby while watching my toddler Darwin live his best life at the museum.”

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Of course, that didn’t happen.

Though it’s been a wild year, these mommies have nothing but gratitude in their hearts.

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quickly changes when they get home with the other siblings,” Martin says.

After the McGrews got home, life continued to feel strange.

For starters, not going out and about in public has meant that Rosie has not been exposed to many people. As a result, McGrew feels Rosie has a heightened sense of stranger danger.

“With the older boys, we paraded them and passed them around constantly,” she says. “They got used to people quickly. Rosie hasn’t been able to be in those social situations because we rarely leave the house, and when she does see people out in public, they’re all wearing masks.”

interactions as well. McGrew feels particularly bad for grandparents and great-grandparents who have not been able to visit with their families for months.

McGrew wonders what that does to her daughter’s developing brain, to see masks in place of bright, smiling faces.

“I’m just thankful for her smile,” she says. “It makes up for not being able to see everyone else’s.”

It’s not just the smiles many of us are craving, but personal

“Not getting to know and see Rosie, they don’t have the same relationship with my daughter as they do with my older boys,” McGrew says.

Nevertheless, while much has changed, some things remain the same, like the unconditional love and excitement that siblings feel toward the newest little additions to their families. McGrew reports that her sons, Patrick, 10, and Frankie, 6, adore having a little sister.

“They’re so excited to see her when they come home from school,” McGrew says.

The feeling is mutual, as Rosie’s face lights up when she lays eyes on her big brothers.

“It’s been fun watching their own unique relationships with her,” McGrew says. “My 10-year-old is her protector, and my 6-year-old is her playmate. All Frankie wants to do is kiss Rosie.”

It may be a topsy-turvy world right now, with more ups and downs than we’d prefer, but these mommies are not complaining.

“Rosie is everything I didn’t know I needed,” McGrew says. “She completes our family.”

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Since Sheltering Wings first opened its doors in 2002, the nonprofit organization has helped scores of individuals who suffer domestic abuse. According to Executive Director Cassie Mecklenburg, the nonprofit helps roughly 250 women, men and children annually through residential services. In addition, they provide prevention and education all across the county in churches, schools and workplaces.

The organization also offers a 24/7 helpline, fielding thousands of calls each year.

Sheltering Wings aids, in numerous ways, those who suffer domestic abuse, to help them get back on their feet.

“We know it’s not enough to just help a person get out of an abusive relationship,” Mecklenburg says. “We want to help them build safety, stability and independence so that they can move forward. Therefore, we work with them to develop all of the economic and emotional resources they

need to do that.”

The fundamentals of all abuse are control and manipulation, so regardless of how it manifests itself, whether it is physical, emotional, verbal or sexual abuse, it all boils down to control. As Mecklenburg points out, during the pandemic, because many people have been isolated and quarantined together with spouses or significant others, the opportunities for control and manipulation have increased.

“People are much more hesitant to call a domestic shelter or service provider, or even a friend or family member, for help when their spouse or significant other is sitting right next to them on the couch or in the room next door,” Mecklenburg says, adding that this unique period of time has underscored the importance of community, and helping one another in times of crisis.

For instance, office colleagues might normally see signs that would prompt them to check in with a co-worker and ask PlainfieldMag.com / APRIL 2021 / PLAINFIELD MAGAZINE / 27

if everything is OK. Teachers might see a change in student behavior at school and inquire if something is going on at home.

During the pandemic, however, with so many individuals working and learning virtually, people haven’t had as many opportunities to be around one another as they would normally. As a result, many individuals have experienced abuse at a much more frequent and dangerous level, since abuse has a tendency to escalate over time.

“Isolation and quarantine created this perfect storm of an environment where abuse is ripe to happen more,” Mecklenburg says. “Unfortunately, it has and it did.”

In addition, the staff has seen a spike in deteriorating mental health in recent months.

“We’re seeing families coming to us with significant and severe mental health challenges - way more than we were seeing before,” Mecklenburg says. “It’s all

interwoven together.”

As a result, families seeking Sheltering Wings’ services are in need of an extra level of care, concern and therapy, to help them not only address abuse, but also residual mental health effects.

The coronavirus has impacted everything, including the need for Sheltering Wings to decrease their daily census. While their full capacity is 80 beds, they had to drop that number to 55 in order to manage social distancing and minimize the risk of spread.

Despite having a lower census, they still housed 8% more families than they did the year before.

“When you go from daily census capacity of 80 to 55 yet you still serve more families, what that means is that families are moving in and out at a much quicker rate,” Mecklenburg says. “Families were feeling much more unsettled, and more transient in the process. It pointed to two growing needs - our need to provide after-shelter services and help families find permanent, safe housing even more than before.”

That’s precisely why Haven Homes, an affordable, supportive-housing apartment community being built in Plainfield, is coming at just the right time. In June of 2020, in partnership with developer RealAmerica and Cummins Behavioral Health Systems, Sheltering Wings broke ground on Haven Homes, located across the street from The Shops at Perry Crossing.

Sheltering Wings will have access to 13 of the 52 units for residents who move out of the shelter but cannot yet afford rent.

Sheltering Wings families will have first right of refusal on the remaining 39 units, but the community at large can also live in the apartments. The staff is currently taking information from members of the community who are interested in living at the property, and placing them on a wait list.

In the fall, those people will be contacted to determine their interest and connect them with availability.

Mecklenburg describes the clubhouse as much more than the average apartment community clubhouse. In addition to all 28 / PLAINFIELD MAGAZINE / APRIL 2021 / PlainfieldMag.com

the typical amenities, Sheltering Wings will staff the clubhouse, and the building is designed with the capacity to host life skills classes and programs onsite. It will be a vital extension to all that happens at the facility in Danville. Cummins Behavioral Health Systems will offer direct access to their therapeutic services.

Despite the pandemic, construction is still on track and the plan is to open in early December of 2021.

“What’s so wonderful about this partnership is that it allows our families to transition from victim to survivor,” Mecklenburg says.

“They won’t be defined by their past because they are living in and amongst members of the general community. We are privileged to partner with RealAmerica to be able to provide this.”

Mecklenburg says one potential hiccup with the move-in date involves acquiring appliances, as appliance shipments have been impacted by COVID-19.

“It’s possible that we could have the entire community built out and ready to open, but we won’t have refrigerators, stoves and microwaves,” she says. “Right now, it’s on a months-long delay, but we’re hoping it all works itself out by December.”

The organization’s priority of providing emergency housing and helping to build stable and independent lives hasn’t changed, but the way they do this has changed throughout the last year.

“In order for us to be responsive to the evolving needs, as well as the growing demand on our services, it takes community support,” Mecklenburg says.

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This support comes in all different forms, as the organization needs both financial resources as well as volunteers. For instance, the staff keeps an ongoing wish list of needed items. Currently, this includes toilet paper, paper towels, bath towels and twin-bed sheets. Linens and towels are always in short supply because whenever a family leaves the shelter, Sheltering Wings sends them off with the towels and sheets

they used during their stay.

The organization is also constantly seeking volunteers to help free up staff time to address the ever-changing needs of the families.

shows that our community really cares about our families and wants to take care of them. We are moving forward, adapting our programs and services, and trusting that we will continue to be able to do that based on the phenomenal community support.”

“We’ve been unbelievably blessed and so appreciative of the way our community has responded,” Mecklenburg says. “History

For more information on Sheltering Wings, call 317-718-5460 or visit shelteringwings.org.

30 / PLAINFIELD MAGAZINE / APRIL 2021 / PlainfieldMag.com

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