NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WDRB) — A free youth counseling center in southern Indiana is finding that even as it rapidly expands, the need for mental health support among local teenagers remains consistently high.
Brandon's House, a nonprofit that has provided free counseling to teenagers for more than three decades, is currently facing a persistent waiting list of 30 to 40 youth.
"This October, we'll turn 33," said Wade Thaxton, CEO of Brandon's House.
Over those 33 years, the clinic has expanded significantly to meet community needs. Within the last two years alone, the nonprofit has doubled its physical capacity twice.
The first major expansion occurred in 2024, when the clinic relocated to its current building.
The center doubled its capacity again this year after completing renovations on the building's lower level and opening a satellite office on the Clarksville Community Schools campus.
Yet, despite the additional space and resources, the demand for services continues to outpace the clinic's ability to provide them.
"It's weird, like we're doing far more counseling than we've ever done," Thaxton said. "And yet the waiting list ... it feels like it doesn't change."
Staff members attribute the surge in demand to several modern pressures. Brittani Hoyer, a counselor at the center, points to both positive and negative societal shifts over the last two decades.
"I think that the need has increased over the last 10, 15, 20 years because of the awareness," Hoyer said. "And all of the Internet, all the access that kids and adults have nowadays."
The Southern Indiana Health Foundation awarded Brandon's House a grant to fund a full-time counselor. Thaxton said the position helps combat the backlog because it allows the clinic to immediately fast-track high-risk cases off the waiting list and into therapy.
"We've had several kids come to us with a plan to take their life," Thaxton said.
For Thaxton, the mission of Brandon's House is deeply personal. His older brother died by suicide in 2002.
"My brother took his life in 2002," Thaxton said. "And at the time in '93, he was still in school. He could have come over to Brandon's House and gotten counseling. And maybe his life would have been different."
Now, Thaxton is dedicated to ensuring other local teenagers find the community and support his brother struggled to find.
To expand its reach beyond the clinic's walls and meet students where they are, Brandon's House is piloting a new group therapy program in partnership with Clarksville High School.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. You can call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
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