Lilly Endowment’s $1M grant will support Progress House expansion

Lilly Endowment Inc. has given $1 million toward the enhancement of Progress House, the oldest and largest recovery residence in Indiana and a subsidiary of Aspire Indiana Health.

“We are incredibly grateful for this grant from Lilly Endowment,” Aspire President & CEO Antony Sheehan said. “Because of this support, the recovery journey of so many will be enhanced, and this investment will enable us to expand our capacity to better meet the needs of the community. We are honored by the trust Lilly Endowment has placed in Progress House and Aspire Indiana Health.”

Progress House annually serves 300 individuals seeking treatment for substance use disorder (SUD). The grant will support Aspire Indiana Health’s effort to renovate and expand Progress House so it can better serve clients and build its capacity to serve more individuals.

In 1961 a small group of Indianapolis women and men recognized the need for a recovery setting for people with substance use disorder and founded Progress House. What began in a small home on North New Jersey Street has grown into the largest recovery residence in Indiana.

In November 2019 Progress House merged with Aspire Indiana Health, a nonprofit provider of comprehensive healthcare services. Together they created a Whole Health Recovery Continuum as a novel approach to providing services to combat SUD, including efforts to respond to the opioid crisis.

This powerful array of medical, behavioral health and recovery support services is provided onsite at a stable place to live. This model has received recognition from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) for the creativity of the programming and their successful outcomes. The Whole Health Recovery Continuum has contributed to the Progress House success rate, with 70 percent of individuals who enter services completing programming – well above industry standards.

The continuum includes Progress House on the Near Eastside of Indianapolis, the Mockingbird Hill Recovery Center in Anderson, Ind., and Next Step transition apartments in Indianapolis. Unfortunately, the need for expanded programming continues to grow, outpacing available resources for those living with SUD. The investment from Lilly Endowment will continue to improve the outcomes for the people served by Progress House.

Learn more at ProgressHouse.org.