THE ASPIRE BLOG

A year has passed since Aspire was selected by county leaders and the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction (DMHA) as the new Community Mental Health Center (CMHC) for Hancock and Shelby counties. The designation expanded Aspire’s CMHC footprint from four to six counties in Indiana, offering the opportunity for Aspire to learn more about the needs of these communities and provide its members access to consistent, high-quality care services.

“Aspire is humbled to have been selected to serve Shelby and Hancock counties,” says Aspire President & CEO Antony Sheehan. “In the last year, we’ve built strong partnerships with other healthcare providers, elected officials and key stakeholders in these counties, and we pledge to continue to grow our capabilities to meet the needs of the communities in the years to come.”

Collaboration With Communities

Since being selected as the CMHC last summer, Aspire has established operational clinic locations in both Shelbyville and Greenfield. Aspire opened its Shelbyville office on November 10, 2025, at 7 E. Hendricks Street; and the Greenfield office on December 8, 2025, at 120 W. McKenzie Street, Suite G.

“Our biggest priority was not to come into either of these two counties with an assumption of their needs,” says Aspire Senior Vice President of Addiction and Crisis Services Vanessa Pataky. “We listened, we collaborated, and saw areas where we could help break down barriers to care.”

“These two communities already had considerable strengths, services, relationships and resources,” Sheehan says. “We’ve worked hard to become part of that fabric, understand there are unmet needs, and bring Aspire’s experiences and capabilities alongside those already doing important work.”

Aspire is an active member of the Hancock and Shelby Chambers and regularly attends chamber events in both counties. In addition, Aspire participates in the SASS Team (Shelby Accessing Social Supports), attends events with both County Foundations, and is connected to Healthy Shelby County, maintaining communication with local nonprofit partners.

“From county commissioners to law enforcement, we are getting positive feedback on the impact being made throughout the communities,” says Aspire Vice President of Community Partnerships dianna Huddleston. “Leaders throughout Shelby and Hancock Counties are seeing residents really are getting access to the care they need.”

And key to these relationships is Aspire showing up and being present.

“These are still brand-new relationships that need to be nurtured, and Aspire needs to foster that,” Pataky says. “It is an incredible privilege to be a part of these communities who truly want the best for their residents.”

Filling in Care Gaps

“Access to care still remains the number one barrier to seeking mental health treatment,” Pataky says. “Both communities had such a high demand for behavioral health services that it was important for us to be able to offer both communities Aspire’s established, successful Same Day Access model and provide immediate relief and care continuity.”

Both clinic locations in Shelbyville and Greenfield offer Same Day Access (SDA) services, allowing individuals to walk into the clinic and begin the intake process for therapy services immediately, significantly reducing wait times. SDA services started this January in Shelby County and March in Hancock County.

“We’re good at noticing what a community needs and then being able to say, ‘Here’s how we can help,’” Huddleston says. 

In the last year, Aspire has served nearly 700 people who have walked into the Greenfield and Shelbyville locations through Same Day Access.

In addition to SDA, feedback from both Hancock Health and Major Health Partners (MHP) highlighted the need for Aspire’s support in providing crisis response and emergency department assessments in their respective hospitals. The goal is to conduct timely assessments and help ensure individuals are connected to the most appropriate care pathway in a busy emergency department environment.

Aspire began providing crisis ER assessments for Hancock Health last December and MHP in January, taking the average wait time for a crisis evaluation in the ER from up to nine hours … down to 22 minutes.

“It was important for Aspire to navigate the history of these communities with a Community Mental Health Center and what mental health services were already being offered,” Pataky says. “Then, we could walk alongside all these incredible programs they had created to see how Aspire can continue to strengthen the supports within the community.”

By helping to fill in the gaps of care throughout Hancock and Shelby Counties, Aspire is delivering on its mission to partner with its communities to deliver compassionate, high-quality and accessible care.

Success in Schools

“Aspire’s school-based services were able to launch pretty quickly in Hancock and Shelby Counties because we didn’t need a dedicated space, but the referrals definitely started to pick up once we had the office locations established in those counties,” says Aspire Senior Director of Youth and Family Services Amanda Votaw.

In the school setting, Aspire is in partnership with three school systems in Hancock and Shelby Counties — Mt. Vernon Community Schools, Shelbyville Central Schools and Greenfield Central School — to provide therapy and skills-based services in close collaboration with school staff. Aspire also coordinates with the state Department of Child Services when referrals are appropriate.

Between the three school systems, Aspire is providing school based services for about 100 students with 170 referrals at 20 different schools. Core services include in-school and in-home therapy, skills instruction and case management along with medication management for youth.

“We want to help the child at school as well as the family at home with those same skills to offer the best chance for success,” Votaw adds. “They haven’t had consistent resources in the past, and a lot of it is about building trust.” 

Schools are often the first place where behavioral and mental health concerns in children are noticed, and having that consistent access to care in the schools helps with early intervention and getting support in place as soon as possible.

“It’s a challenge to build and develop programming to meet the needs of the schools, and there’s a lot of balance involved,” Votaw says. “It’s important to have the child, the family, and the school all on the same page for the child to be successful.”

Being a Good Neighbor

Serving urban, suburban and rural communities throughout Central Indiana, Aspire is well-balanced as a CMHC to meet the diverse and unique needs of both Shelby and Hancock Counties. 

“Being a part of both of these communities for a year now, I have found both to be resilient and care so much about their residents,” Huddleston says. “They’ve been very welcoming, but we also had to earn their trust by showing up, being present, and being a good neighbor to them.”

At every level, whether business strategy, administration, leadership or clinical staff, Aspire Indiana Health is building its reputation in Shelby and Hancock Counties each day, through each patient, partnership and person.

“We are deeply grateful to the people and leaders of Hancock and Shelby Counties for the partnership and collaboration we have received in the last year,” Sheehan says. “Together, we are building something that will last: accessible, compassionate care that supports the strength and character of the communities we serve.”