Mental Health & Substance Use Support Cited as Top Challenge Facing Rural Southern Indiana Communities

JASPER, IN – In early 2026, the Being for Others Health and Wellness Foundation (BFO) hosted eight informational sessions and invited community members to come together to learn about upcoming grant programs that align with BFO’s vision of Healthy Communities. BFO hosted events at local establishments within their service region of Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Martin, Orange, Perry, Pike, and Spencer counties.

These events not only promoted community togetherness and strategic collaborative planning, but also served as a way for BFO to gain insight on what local community leaders, nonprofit organizations, service providers, schools, and government agencies find as top issues and barriers for their local communities.

Read the full report here: BFO Community Snapshot Survey Full Report 2026.pdf

BFO provided an optional Community Snapshot Survey to all 190 event participants over the course of the three-week time period, and received 146 completed survey responses. Guided by the BFO Grant Priority Pillars, participants identified key challenges to well-being, existing resources, barriers to progress, and community leaders making an impact.

The findings of this survey reveal strong regional alignment around several key issues affecting families and communities, while also highlighting important differences across counties.

Download the printable 2-page report summary: BFO Community Snapshot Survey Results 2026.pdf

Key Regional Findings:

When combining data from all eight counties, survey respondents identified four areas with challenges impacting communities across the region, in order of priority:

  1. Mental Health & Substance Use Support
  2. Housing & Economic Stability
  3. Transportation & Connectivity
  4. Early Childhood & Family Support

Among these, mental health emerged as the top concern in five of the eight counties surveyed. Housing and economic stability was ranked consistently high, particularly in counties facing workforce and economic development challenges. Transportation was also identified as a key structural challenge limiting access to healthcare, employment, and early childhood services.

Barriers to Community Progress:

Participants also identified common barriers limiting organizations’ ability to address community needs. The most frequently cited barriers included:

  1. Limited funding
  2. Capacity and staffing challenges
  3. Lack of coordination between organizations
  4. Community trust and engagement challenges

Notably, limited funding was identified as the primary barrier in nearly every county surveyed, underscoring the need for sustainable investment and cross-sector collaboration. This is an area where BFO’s mission serves to bridge gaps between organizations and resources.

While regional trends were consistent, each county showed unique priorities:

Dubois County respondents expressed the strongest concern around mental health and substance use support needs, while Martin County respondents emphasized housing and economic stability. Crawford County participants highlighted transportation and connectivity as a dominant challenge, and Pike County respondents reported housing and economic stability slightly outweighing mental health concerns. Other counties including Daviess, Perry, Orange, and Spencer reflected on similar combinations of mental health, housing, and transportation concerns, with varying barriers related to staffing, coordination, and community engagement.

Based on survey feedback, several strategic opportunities for regional collaboration have been revealed, including:

  1. Expanding regional mental health solutions rather than county-by-county approaches
  2. Increasing investment in early childhood programs as a prevention strategy
  3. Addressing transportation as a cross-cutting issue affecting multiple sectors
  4. Developing sustainable funding models that encourage cross-county partnerships
  5. Building stronger coordination infrastructure, including shared convening, referral pathways, and aligned data systems

With this first-time report, BFO plans to integrate insights from the Community Snapshot Survey into future grantmaking, partnerships, and regional strategies aimed at improving health outcomes across its eight-county service area. By sharing these findings, and future reports, with the broader Southern Indiana community, BFO hopes to inspire deeper collaboration among organizations to strengthen and advance health and wellness initiatives throughout the region.

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About Being for Others Health and Wellness Foundation

The Being for Others (BFO) Health and Wellness Foundation is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to creating a culture of health and wellness for the betterment of communities in Southern Indiana. Established through a generous $20 million endowment made possible by the affiliation between Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center and Deaconess Health System in 2024, the foundation serves eight counties: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Martin, Orange, Perry, Pike, and Spencer.

Focused exclusively on grant-making, the foundation collaborates with local organizations, agencies, and other funders to promote health and wellness initiatives that inspire our communities to Be Well. Be Healthy. Be for Others.

For more information contact us at 812-556-0400, info@beingforothers.org or visit www.beingforothers.org