Emberwood Center

Emberwood Center: Fostering Growth, Respect, and Integrity through Outpatient Services Our mission is to foster growth, respect, and integrity by providing Outpatient Services that address mental health issues and addictions with families and individuals. Community Addiction Services are a New Beginning Emberwood Center was founded in 1979 to administer a drug and alcohol prevention program for teenagers in Indianapolis. Located in the Near Eastside Multi-Service Center, now the John H. Boner community center, Emberwood Center first named their program the Near Eastside Primary Prevention Project. We adopted the short-hand Alternatives Project a year later. We added adolescents’ outpatient care in 1981 and adopted “PITS” shortly after. We took some heat over PITS but many of the youth we were attracting could relate to the PITS experience! EmberWood Center opened Mirage Retreat in 1984, a state-wide residential treatment center for adolescents. Since the beginning, Mirage has been planned to remain true to its mission of serving individuals unable to afford such services elsewhere. Empowering youth In 1987, the Confidence Club began prevention work with youth. This program was an outgrowth of the alternative approach to prevention, begun in 1979. The Club teaches life skills to youngsters using Tae Kwon Do (Korean martial art) and physical and mental disciplines. Indianapolis recorded the highest infant mortality rate in the first world in 1989. Westminster Presbyterian Church, People’s Health Center, and CASI joined forces to increase the public's awareness of the impact of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs on infant mortality. They called the project HIFI or High Intensity Future Investors. Our agency was incorporated in 1994 as Community Addictions Services of Indiana. CASI, Inc. was a founding member of Addiction Resource Network of Indiana in 1997. This managed care network of substance abuse providers provides a free service to all members. We opened an Outpatient Office in Hamilton County (Noblesville) in 1998.