Friday, June 27, 2025
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Bringing Hope to Grieving Hearts: Joshua Center to Expand Shelby County Services
The Joshua Center has expanded its outreach locally and internationally. On the right, Joshua Center director Rachel Long and realtor Alicia Barr share an office space at HIGH BARR Real Estate in the Fairland area. | submitted
When Rachel Long lost her younger brother Joshua in 2005, the grief that followed eventually grew into a life mission. Now, 20 years later, that mission, known as the Joshua Center, is taking deeper root in Shelby County.
The nonprofit grief support organization for children and families already operates a branch out of High Barr Real Estate in Fairland and next year will move into the new Non-Profit Center on the southwest side of Shelbyville. Growing up in Reelsville, Ind., Long remembers well the library bookmobile that serviced her rural community. She follows that same model of service as she transitions the Joshua Center into increased partnerships with schools, families, and community foundations.
“Our vision is that every child deserves hope as they heal from grief and loss,” said Long, who is a licensed grief counselor and president of the organization.
The Joshua Center is headquartered out of Greenwood with satellite offices, and the new space will allow for expanded local services: grief retreats, school partnerships, bilingual curriculum, and a unique model of care rooted in real-world settings.
“Sometimes we meet kids in a dugout. Sometimes at a gravesite. If their grief is tied to a place, we meet them there,” Long said.
Joshua Center’s work is deeply tied to Long’s personal story and her professional background, which includes leadership roles in church and nonprofit development. “I would trade all of this to have my brother back,” she said, “but since that isn’t possible, this is my enduring connection.”
Jennifer Jones, Executive Director with the Blue River Community Foundation, helped facilitate the connection between the Joshua Center and Shelby County. “They’re wonderful,” Jones said. “Mental health is a critical need here, especially when it comes to specializing in grief with children.”
Long emphasized that the need in Shelby County is real. “Based on local data, more than 900 children here have lost a parent or sibling,” she said. “That’s not abstract. That’s classrooms and neighborhoods and families all carrying unspoken grief.”
Planning for the nonprofit's grief retreats is already underway in a renovated barn owned by HIGH BARR Real Estate, and the team is building partnerships with organizations like Girls Inc., local schools, and the Department of Child Services. “When we asked DCS what the biggest barrier to grief support was, their answer was simple: transportation,” said Long. “So we’re working toward mobile units, too.”
With an eye toward long-term presence, the Joshua Center is also building a bilingual grief curriculum called “Froggie Feels Better,” set to launch in both English and Spanish. “We have Spanish-speaking staff, community translators, and materials designed for real families,” said Long. “Shelby County isn’t just rural, it’s diverse. And we’re here for all of it.”
The nonprofit’s expansion isn’t just symbolic. Long said the organization’s goal is to stay, grow, and invest locally. “We’ve heard from so many people here: ‘Don’t be another group that shows up and leaves.’ And we’re not. We’re planting roots.”
With that mindset, the Joshua Center is also exploring youth internships and peer liaison roles for students interested in human services. “We believe healing and leadership can grow together,” Long said. “Even in grief, there’s room for purpose.”
For now, she’s focused on building trust - and a lasting presence. “We’re here to walk with families. Not just through loss, but toward hope.”
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NOTEBOOK:
The Shelbyville Central Schools board yesterday named Dr. Julie Ruschhaupt to fill the open board seat.
HOOSIER NEWS: Indiana lawmakers will study water safety education, medical debt and postpartum care during this year’s interim study committees, among other topics legislative leaders said are “meaningful” to working families. Sen. Rodney Pol, Jr. (D-Chesterton) said 49 children have died from drowning the last few years, what he called too many preventable deaths. He said lawmakers will push the Indiana Department of Education to develop water safety curriculum, likening it to fire safety education crafted many years ago. (Indiana Public Radio)
NATIONAL NEWS: When the pandemic and e-commerce-driven retail apocalypse struck the world, medical facilities began moving to vacant strip mall locations scattered. The mini-mall outpatient facility is one of the most in-demand retail areas, with leasing up 15 percent nationally in the fourth quarter of last year, filling 19 million square feet of new leasing activity. Office space at hospitals and health systems is expensive, so some of the less intensive procedures are now being situated off-campus. This is one reason why 80 percent of medical facilities under construction are not adjacent to a hospital. Just 15 years ago, the number of healthcare workers working in hospitals and at outpatient buildings was about even; today, 6.8 million work from outpatient buildings and just 5.5 million are at hospitals. (Sherwood News/Numlock)
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SHS Courier Archive Highlights
May 21, 1952, Part I
Promotion exercises were held for 112 JHS 8A students. Donna Baker, who was in the 8A class, gave the invocation. Jerry Moore (8A) and Jackie Tindall (7A) also spoke. Jerry Heiniger played a clarinet solo. Mrs. Gross and W.J. Day were the class sponsors.
The 1952 Squib had sold 1,100 copies.
The Class of 1952 presented a “Gay Nineties” skit. George Breedlove appeared as Lillian Russell, “while a trio of beauties - Don Polakoff, Jerry Fleming and Bob Moore - presented a special dance routine.” Steve Davis read the class prophecy, and Jackie Hawkins presented the last will and testament of the class.
The school board had been discussing building an auditorium. The Courier staff said there was a real need. If programs were held in the senior assembly, students had to sit two-to-a-seat and stand along the walls. The Courier said it was not unusual “for some girl to faint during the program as a result of standing for 30 or 40 minutes.” Convocations were sometimes held in Paul Cross Gym, where there were plenty of seats, but the sound was poor.
SHS alumni Roy Buell, Robert Adams and Robert Cheatham had all died in the Korean War, bringing to total 33 former SHS students who had died in World War II and in Korea.
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This Day in Shelby County History
News around Shelbyville and the surrounding area as reported on or about this date in history. Selections are curated by The Addison Times from Shelby County Public Library Genealogy Department materials.
2005: Madison Mohr, 7, and Christopher Albinda, 5, were named Little Miss and Little Mister, respectively, at the Shelby County Fair. Little Miss runners-up were Lucy Furiak and Cassady Skipton. Little Mister runners-up were Brock Goley and Trey Newton.
1995: Waldron Fourth of July committee members announced that Barney the Dinosaur and Baby Bop would make appearance at the school grounds and be available for photographs. Kevin Fuchs, a coordinator for the celebration, said Waldron’s Niagara Falls fireworks display would be the largest of its kind in the state thanks to the use of a crane provided by Mohr Inc.
1985: Tito Abeleda, son of Dr. and Mrs. Lamberto Abeleda, Shelbyville, was a singer/dancer in the Kings Island summer musical production, “Gotta Dance”. Abeleda was a junior at Butler University and an SHS graduate.
1975: A Center Street man was wounded by a bullet fired at him in the parking lot of the Top Hat Tavern on E. Locust St. The injured man said the dispute had been “long standing” between him and the guy who fired the shot.
1965: Several local businesses had been vandalized. Richard Conger, manager of the Bradley Hall store, reported someone had shot a hole in a company truck. Hubert Dellekamp said someone had shot holes in the window of the Dellekamp Drive-in Cleaners. Bullet holes were also found in windows at First Federal Savings and Loan on Public Square and Citgo Service Station on E. Broadway.
1955: Deputies had rushed out to Cozy Bluff in the Flat Rock River following reports of three young men who had possibly drowned. The teens had left their boat anchored and walked down the river to set up a trout-line. They returned to the boat while deputies were searching the water.
1945: Tech. Sgt. Wayne Zell had died in a plane crash. The War Department notified his parents, on Fifth St., that Zell had been wounded in Germany and was being flown to a hospital in France when the plane crashed.
1935: Four water polo teams had formed and were competing at Porter Pool. Captains of the teams were Dale Thurston, Paul Watters, Ed Page and George Coffin. Junior teams were led by James Grinstead, Duane Murphy, Frank Rehme and Robert Stith.
1925: Approximately 100 Shelby County girls had enrolled in canning and sewing club work for the summer. Awards would be distributed at the county fair in late summer.
1915: Evangelist Fenwick Reed was preaching a tent revival in Indianapolis. The Republican noted that Reed had, many years before, preached a revival at First M.E. Church in Shelbyville. “He went at things hammer and tongs - sort of present Billy Sunday style. He handled all subjects, not with gloves, but with bare knuckles. He was like our own Doug Dobbins in ‘Quarrytown,’ he called everything by its proper name.” Reed, however, was best remembered here for saying that “Hell is only 10 miles away!” The paper said people had wanted to know “whether the abode of his Satanic Majesty was 10 miles straight up, straight down, at St. Paul, London, Marietta or some other Shelby County seaport. The remark was quoted frequently for a long time.”
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OBITUARIES
Anne Louise Thurston, 66, of Shelbyville, passed away peacefully on June 25, 2025, after a long courageous fight with breast cancer. She was born June 19, 1959, in Frankfort, Indiana to Donald L. Sanders and Jane A. Sanders (Stradtman). On April 7, 1979, she married Roger E. Thurston, and he survives. In addition to Roger, Anne is survived by her mother, Jane Stradtman, stepmother Pamela Sanders of Franklin, daughter Reba Kennard (Troy) of Shelbyville, son Will Thurston of Nineveh, and bonus daughter, Megan Thurston of Shelbyville. Also surviving is her sister Linda Sanders (Jeff Wagoner), brother D.L. Sanders (Melissa McDaniel), nephew Aaron Sanders; grandchildren Maddie Kennard (Jaydan Garrett), Kyle Kennard, Alexis Thurston, Chloe Thurston, Keaton Kennard; great grandchildren, James, Nevaeh, Liam and Jadeline, all of Shelbyville. She was preceded in death by her father, stepfather Dick Stradtman and grandson Nolan Kennard.
Anne was a 1977 graduate of Southwestern High School and is a lifelong member of the West Street United Methodist Church. Anne has held the position of Shelby County Assessor since September 2008 and during her tenure received multiple awards including East Central District Assessor of the Year, East Central District President, and ICAA Board of Directors East Central District President. She also worked her favorite “part-time” job at H & R Block for 33 years. She was a member of Business and Professional Women’s Association, member of the International Association of Assessing Officers and a member of the Indiana Association of Assessing Officers.
Anne loved everyone and never met a stranger. She participated in community outreach and ministries of the church, judging the Bears of Blue River Parade, riding in parades and the Republican Party, especially manning the booth at the county fair, and working the polls. She enjoyed her church family, going to Beef & Boards with family and friends, playing Euchre with her Assessor friends, watching movies, going to Cagney’s, taking family vacations in the Tennessee mountains and being scared of the bears, drinking sweet red wine from Dr. Baker’s Brandywine Creek Vineyards & Winery, but most importantly, her family meant the world to her.
Memorial donations can be made to the West Street United Methodist Church, 629 S. West Street, Shelbyville, Ind., 46176, or the Cancer Association of Shelby County, 31 Public Square, Shelbyville, Ind., 46176. The family would also like to thank the outstanding and caring staff at Ashford Place, MHP and Dr. Cole for all their kindness, concern and care they provided Anne during this difficult journey.
Services will be 11 a.m. on Tuesday, July 1, 2025 at West Street United Methodist Church, 629 S. West St. with Pastor Perry Richards officiating. Burial will be in Forest Hill Cemetery at a later date. Friends may call on Monday evening from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Glenn E. George & Son Funeral Home, 437 Amos Rd., and also from 10 a.m. until the time of the service on Tuesday morning at the church. Online condolences may be shared at glennegeorgeandson.com.