Community Solutions Inc.

Community Solutions Inc. A multifaceted consulting firm that provides program development, community development, fund development, evaluation, and public policy services

Data plays an essential role in public health — it helps identify trends, surface challenges, and track outcomes. But da...
05/26/2026

Data plays an essential role in public health — it helps identify trends, surface challenges, and track outcomes. But data alone doesn’t tell the full story.

As Mickdaelle Etienne, Senior Research Associate at Community Solutions, explains, centering people with lived experience leads to a deeper understanding of what communities are actually facing. It moves the work beyond assumptions and strengthens how interventions and programs are designed.

At Community Solutions, data is used as a tool for improvement, not just measurement. When data is interpreted alongside lived experience, it becomes more than numbers. It becomes insight that guides smarter decisions, more responsive strategies, and systems that are better equipped to meet real needs.

Data supports meaningful change by helping teams understand what’s happening and informing where action is needed.

What we bring into a room shapes the work inside the room. At Community Solutions, preparation isn’t just about material...
05/19/2026

What we bring into a room shapes the work inside the room.

At Community Solutions, preparation isn’t just about materials or data—it’s about mindset. It’s shaped by how we listen, equip, and show respect for the work already happening in communities.

As Kinsey Bussell reminds us, “Our process is listening to the community.” That listening helps ensure the right questions are asked and the right tools are shared. As Sarah Ziegler puts it, “Community Solutions helps ask the questions and provide the tools.”

Underlying it all is a simple but essential practice. As Lena Hackett shares: “Authentic respect for the work that people are doing.”

Listening. Equipping. Respect.

These are the values we bring into every room—because how we show up determines what can happen next.

Last month, we hosted a powerful Network Gathering for the Accelerator Initiative – Cohort 2, and the energy in the room...
05/14/2026

Last month, we hosted a powerful Network Gathering for the Accelerator Initiative – Cohort 2, and the energy in the room was incredible! 🌟

The Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction (DMHA) Accelerator Initiative is designed to support the role that Community-Based Organizations play in improving access to important mental health services.

Cohort 2 Grantees, Cohort 1 Alumni, Grantee Coaches, and DMHA staff came together at the Frederick Douglass Family Center for a day centered on learning, connection, and collective growth.

Together, we explored:

🌱Fund Development for Sustainability with Tanya Pietrkowski of TP Strategies — practical tools for long-term organizational strength

🌱A Founder’s Succession Journey with Cohort 1 alum Antonia Sawyer — an honest conversation about leadership transitions and sustained collaboration

🌱Possibility Through Partnership — a facilitated dialogue on how our network can resource one another and expand what’s possible through shared capacity

As part of our organizational capacity work in the Accelerator Initiative, we applied the Casey Foundation’s Organizational Capacity Assessment Tool to help organizations assess their current capabilities and define their priorities for future growth. This is one of the many tools we use to help organizations gain clarity, strengthen internal systems, and build the foundation needed for long-term impact.

Organizational development isn’t one-size-fits-all — and that’s where our expertise shines. Whether an organization needs leadership development, support navigating a major transition, or guidance in building a city- or statewide capacity-building strategy, we tailor our approach to each client’s goals, context, and stage of growth. Our team has deep experience helping organizations move confidently into their next phase.

This gathering was a reminder of what becomes possible when organizations learn with and from one another. The Accelerator Initiative continues to grow because our network grows — and we’re proud to help build the capacity that makes that growth possible.

Strong systems are built by combining professional expertise with the knowledge of people who have lived the realities o...
05/12/2026

Strong systems are built by combining professional expertise with the knowledge of people who have lived the realities of the work.

As Sarah Ziegler, Operations Manager, shares, “People with lived experience enhance understanding, advocacy, destigmatize language and attitudes, and provide a wealth of information to create real change.”

At Community Solutions, strengthening community leadership means recognizing lived experience as a critical form of expertise. When people closest to the issue help shape strategy and guide decision-making, the work becomes clearer, more grounded, and more effective over time.

This approach builds capacity that lasts — supporting leadership rooted in real experience and real community needs.

Learn more about how community leadership strengthens systems-level change:
https://www.communitysolutionsinc.net/systemschange

Justice systems work best when the people most impacted help shape how solutions are designed.As Tashi Teuschler, Direct...
05/05/2026

Justice systems work best when the people most impacted help shape how solutions are designed.

As Tashi Teuschler, Director of Organizational Development and Culture at Community Solutions, explains, “Treating those who have experienced the legal system and the reentry process as the experts they are” is essential to effective systems change. She also notes that “centering people with lived experience increases the likelihood that solutions are driven by personal experience and real need, and are accessible, relevant, and timely — with no frills.”

This approach moves justice work beyond assumptions and toward solutions grounded in reality. When people with lived experience help guide priorities and decisions, systems are better equipped to respond to complexity, remove barriers, and support meaningful outcomes for individuals and communities alike.

Experiences like the Marion County Reentry Coalition Reentry Simulation show how powerful this approach can be. Designed and led by people with lived experience, the simulation gave community members, local leaders, and policymakers a clearer understanding of what reentry actually looks like — including how easily progress can unravel, even when someone is trying to do everything right.

Effective public health systems aren’t linear or predictable. They shift, adapt, and evolve over time — shaped by the p...
04/28/2026

Effective public health systems aren’t linear or predictable.

They shift, adapt, and evolve over time — shaped by the people working within them and alongside them.

As Tashi Teuschler, Director of Organizational Development and Culture at Community Solutions, puts it, systems change “is messy; it ebbs and flows, and it looks different in many ways.” She also notes that meaningful progress requires partnership between those inside the system and those outside it, because differing perspectives strengthen how solutions are designed and sustained.

This is what effective public health systems require:

🔹 Bringing together people inside and outside the system
🔹 Designing solutions with those closest to the issue
🔹 Being willing to navigate complexity rather than oversimplify it
🔹 Staying flexible as systems evolve over time

When those conditions are in place, systems are better positioned to respond, learn, and improve over time.

Effective facilitation starts with recognizing where expertise truly lives. As Lena Hackett shares, “We believe the abil...
04/21/2026

Effective facilitation starts with recognizing where expertise truly lives.

As Lena Hackett shares, “We believe the ability to make change, the subject matter expertise lies in the group that we are working with. Our job is to build the container so they can contribute their expertise in collaboration with the other members in the room.”

At Community Solutions, facilitation means creating the conditions for honest dialogue, shared learning, and collective problem-solving. When the space is intentionally designed, people bring their full knowledge, experience, and perspective into the work.

That’s how meetings become moments that move systems forward.

Grassroots organizations play a critical role in shaping systems — often long before formal data or evaluations surface ...
04/14/2026

Grassroots organizations play a critical role in shaping systems — often long before formal data or evaluations surface an issue.

Because they work closest to the impact, grassroots partners are typically the first to identify where policies create barriers or where well-intentioned support may miss the mark. They help translate lived reality into insight that systems can act on.

One example comes from the Interdisciplinary Defense System (IDS), a holistic defense initiative launched by the Marion County Re-entry Coalition . IDS integrates legal defense with reentry services from the very beginning — connecting clients to health care, housing navigation, and community-based support alongside legal advocacy.

Through IDS, barrier-buster funds were designated to support people returning to the community after incarceration. But after consulting with reentry partner (an organization that employs people with lived experience) it became clear that the structure of that support needed adjustment.

As Ashley Barnett, Senior Associate at Community Solutions, explains:
“After consulting with our reentry partner PACE, we realized we had to revamp how those funds were disbursed — specifically, limiting the length of time we made assistance available. While we want to help folks get on their feet, we can’t do it in a way that they become dependent on us.”

That insight led to policy revisions and earlier engagement with clients before release, ensuring expectations were clear and support was structured for long-term stability.

This is how grassroots organizations shape systems:
Collaboration → Community → Connection → Care

Through IDS, barrier-buster funds were designated to support people returning to the community after incarceration. But after consulting with reentry partner (an organization that employs people with lived experience), it became clear that the structure of that support needed adjustment.

Holistic and interdisciplinary defense recognizes that justice outcomes depend on many systems. Outcomes are shaped by h...
04/07/2026

Holistic and interdisciplinary defense recognizes that justice outcomes depend on many systems.

Outcomes are shaped by how legal advocacy, health care, housing, behavioral health, and community supports work together — and by the people leading those efforts.

As Kinsey Bussell, Senior Associate who works with the Marion County Reentry Coalition, shares, “Deepening your capacity for empathy makes justice work more effective.” They also emphasize that centering people with lived experience — and respecting their leadership — is critical to creating approaches that actually work.

At Community Solutions, holistic defense means creating space for collaboration across disciplines while listening deeply to those closest to the impact of the system. When empathy, lived experience, and cross-sector coordination guide the work, justice responses become more human, more responsive, and more effective over time.

One thing’s for sure - our team never turns down a good puzzle.We may not have been the fastest crew to “steal” the Mona...
04/03/2026

One thing’s for sure - our team never turns down a good puzzle.

We may not have been the fastest crew to “steal” the Mona Lisa, but we did become the first group to unlock a display that wasn’t even part of the actual challenge. Call it creativity… or accidental brilliance. Either way, we’ll take it.

Team outings like this give us a chance to step away from our desks, think differently, and strengthen our collaboration in a fun, low pressure way. Already looking forward to the next adventure!

Address

10 South New Jersey Street Suite 300
Indianapolis, IN
46204

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+13174231770

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