The sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church of Valparaiso was full Sunday afternoon for the launch of the Porter County chapter of We Make Indiana, a nonprofit that aims to bring people of all faiths together with elected officials to make Hoosier communities safer, healthier and whole.
Five ministers and just as many community members spoke on a variety of topics including affordable housing and childcare, while also sharing their personal stories. All Porter County candidates seeking public office in the general election were invited to speak for three minutes, introducing themselves and answering whether they would be willing to meet with the group in the future.
Rev. Kim Adams of First Presbyterian welcomed the crowd, stated the group’s purpose and gave the invocation. “We are gathered here today to be part of something truly transformative,” she said. “Too many of our neighbors are struggling . . . whether due to affordable housing or childcare.”
Lisa Swayne, of Bethel Lutheran Church and Gabriel’s Horn, explained that economists have said a single parent in this region needs to earn $38 per hour to cover the cost of living. She, like many of the speakers, got personal, sharing that she earns $30 per hour. “If I’m $8 short, how much would you be struggling if you only made $12 an hour?”
That question tied directly to another speaker’s point that the average childcare worker earns just $13 per hour, less than starting wages in fast food and retail. Rev. Melissa Brussa, of Duneland Community Church in Chesterton, spoke of the serious challenges facing working families seeking quality, affordable childcare in the region.
“It will quickly become a full-time job,” she said of the effort to sort through the options in Porter County which range from $150 to $350 per week per child with a waitlist of up to a year.
“Many parents warned me about its competitive nature,” she said of her family’s hunt for childcare and the compromises families may feel trapped into making. “You may be forced to settle for a lesser option even if they have been flagged for critical health and safety violations,” she added.
We Make Indiana organizer Garrett Blad spoke of the success he and others had testifying for the passage of Senate Bill 1, which passed in April 2023 with $100 million in funding to build out a statewide mental health response network.
“I have never felt so angry as I was when I sat in the waiting room of the hospital holding my wailing mother,” he said of the loss of his brother Austin in 2022.
The group’s next phase will be to work with elected officials to identify concrete solutions to social challenges and decide which ones they’ll push for.
Valparaiso City Council President Robert Cotton, D-2nd, was given the floor first even though he is not currently up for reelection. “I noted that the market won’t take care of housing,” he said. “The market will stratify housing if left unchecked.”
Porter County Council President Mike Brickner, R-At-Large, who is up for reelection, was the only Republican candidate in attendance. He said he strives to keep in mind three qualities as he serves: “humility to understand that you are just borrowing a position;” courage to make not always the popular decision but the right decision; and wisdom.
“This is not as good as things get. I believe that,” he said. “I look forward to working with these groups.”
Bob DeRuntz, a Democrat also running for a county council at-large seat, is a 30-year history teacher at Chesterton High School. He quoted an old administrator whose philosophy in dealing with students is easily translatable to fellow citizens, he said.
“In public education, we get all the blueberries, the whole package. Some of them are overripe and some of them are a little underripe.”
Leslie Nuss, a Democrat running to represent State Senate District 5, said she’d like to look at what other states that have risen in their rankings for affordable housing, childcare and mental health have done to see success. “I’m tired of Indiana being at the bottom,” she said.
She said she also liked that We Make Indiana is a multi-faith organization. She’s not a fan of denomination one-upmanship. “I believe that leads to othering,” she said.
Finally, Erika Robinson-Watkins, a Democrat seeking the Indiana State House seat representing District 4, got the heartiest response from the crowd with her impassioned talk of her belief in focusing on quality of life, economic opportunity and safety for the region.
“Every testimony I heard this evening came from people who have been redeemed,” she said.
Other elected officials in attendance were Valparaiso City Councilwomen Barbara Domer, D-3rd; Emilie Hunt, D-At-Large; and Ellen Kapitan, D-At-Large; Porter County Prosecutor Gary Germann, a Democrat; and Center Township Trustee Jesse Harper, also a Democrat.
We Make Indiana will host a training session focused on how to do research training at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 17, at First Christian Church, 1507 E. Glendale Blvd. Valparaiso, “so that by next spring we can have a solution ready to meet with these public officials,” Blad said.
Call (317) 294-5909 to register.
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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