Monroe County, Indiana

YSB programs are designed to meet the needs of youth and families in Monroe County and its surrounding communities, a goal which requires a wide variety of programs and services. To fulfill this goal, YSB has developed a program based on four major components, which are described below. YSB also maintains partnerships with other agencies to provide services related to the four components listed below and to ensure effective and efficient use of available community resources.

Binkley House Emergency Youth Shelter Services

The Binkley House Youth Shelter is the largest division of YSB, and provides short-term residential care and crisis intervention for youth ages 10-17. The shelter provides emergency shelter for runaways, homeless youth, and youth in crisis or abusive situations at home. The shelter is a Basic Center Program.

Accessible 24 hours a day, Binkley House provides services such as counseling, education, supervised recreation, transportation to and from school and other appointments, and referrals to a variety of agencies for related services.

YSB also assists with transitional services during a youth's stay at the Binkley House Emergency Youth Shelter. These include independent living, transition to long-term residential care, transition from long-term residential care back home, and long-term aftercare counseling. The youth shelter also serves as a respite resource for youth placed in foster homes to minimize foster care repeat placements. The Youth Services Bureau of Monroe County does not charge a fee for the services provided for Safe Place or parental admissions. We are recipients of The Federal Runaway and Homeless Youth Grant and our emergency Shelter is a Basic Center Program. 

Referrals to the youth shelter can be made by other social service agencies, parents, or by the youth themselves.

• Helpful information on placing a youth at the Youth Shelter
• View pictures of the shelter
• HMIS Privacy Policy 

Homebased Counseling

YSB provides intensive home-based counseling at no cost to families at risk of abuse or neglect, or youth at risk of running away. Whenever feasible, maintaining the family unit as a functional entity is our goal. Family preservation is always the preferred outcome.

• Meet our Clinical Staff 

 Safe Place

In addition to crisis counseling services, the Youth Services Bureau operates Safe Place of Monroe, Greene, and Owen Counties, a community-wide outreach service for runaways and at-risk youth in crisis situations. Throughout Monroe, Greene, and Owen Counties, dozens of businesses and community locations have volunteered to be part of the Safe Place Network. These Safe Places are identified by the bright yellow Safe Place sign. A youth can enter a Safe Place at any time and ask for help. Within a few minutes a trained volunteer arrives to meet the youth and assist in defusing the crisis. In some cases, the youth chooses to have the volunteer transport them to the Youth Services Bureau shelter where staff welcome the youth and provide for his or her immediate needs--food, warmth, rest, etc. Together they begin to work toward a solution.

Click here for more information about the Safe Place program.

Prevention

Building a Thriving Compassionate Community:

In April 2015, Building a Thriving Compassionate Community (BTCC) started as a small group of passionate individuals talking about the effects of trauma in Monroe County, Indiana. We wanted to create common language around trauma and trauma-sensitive practices and help connect existing resources and initiatives to be more effective and responsive. Within the first few months of convening, BTCC began to shift attention and focus to understanding how trauma could be prevented in the first place – how trajectories for children, families, neighborhoods, and communities could be improved if we could assure safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments from the start. With the sub-committee efforts growing and requiring more infrastructure and support, ABC members decided in 2017 to move their sub-committee initiatives under the umbrella of the Youth Services Bureau of Monroe County (YSB).

Monroe County Youth Council:

MCYC is a youth-led organization that invites Monroe County high school teens – including those who have not previously had opportunities for leadership – to learn what it takes to make a difference in their community.

Bloomington AfterSchool Network:

The Bloomington AfterSchool Network is a coalition that strives to connect Monroe County after school programs, schools, and organizations that impact and serve youth in our community.

YSB also maintains partnerships with other agencies to provide services related to the four components listed above and to ensure effective and efficient use of available community resources.