How one man transformed his life with support from a network of nonprofits in Morgan County

A year and a half. In that short amount of time, Dan Battistoni’s life has transformed.  

Today he has a bank account, a job, a home of his own. He has a driver’s license and a car in his name – all things he couldn't have imagined not long ago.   

In 2024, Dan sought treatment for a yearslong struggle with alcoholism. After 78 days at the Salvation Army’s Harbor Light Center in Indianapolis, Dan moved into Foundations House, a new men’s recovery home from Stability First in Martinsville. 

There, coaches from the YMCA of Morgan County came to teach budgeting classes. 

At the time, Dan’s finances were non-existent. He had three bank debit cards in his wallet – all empty. For two years, he hadn’t kept a job for more than three months.  

“It was very hard to have any financial stability that way,” Dan said.  

But Dan let his guard down. He began to trust those trying to help him. He was ready to listen.   

The YMCA’s coaches connected Dan with a bank. He opened a savings account, a checking account, began repairing his credit. He started saving money for the first time, sticking to the savings plan and budget his coaches guided him to make.  

Then the YMCA hired Dan to work at the front desk. He relearned how to work with computers, a technological barrier for him.  

“I’m so grateful for the network I have,” Dan said. “This was a perfect place for me to start my journey.” 

“For the first time in my adult life, I am finally self-sufficient.”  

Dan’s coaches are part of the Center for Working Families, a programming model that uses one-on-one coaching to guide people on a personalized path toward financial stability, removing barriers, connecting them with resources and helping them land better jobs, earn higher wages and move up the economic ladder.    

The YMCA of Morgan County is one of 14 Center for Working Families sites in Central Indiana: There are 11 in Marion County and one each in Hamilton, Hendricks and Morgan counties. 

Since 2015, United Way of Central Indiana has been the lead funder and administrator of the Center for Working Families network, often called CWF, in the region. The model was developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.  

Over the past three years (2022 to 2025), more than 2,300 people who participated in Center for Working Families programming increased their income, with an average gain of over $17,500, according to United Way data.  

The Center for Working Families helps clients move from surviving to thriving, said Bernadette Monk, United Way’s economic mobility director. It supports the whole person, helping them with education, credentials, employment, money management, budgeting, credit – “wrapping around them with all of the supports to help them on their economic mobility journey,” she said. 

The YMCA of Morgan County became a Center for Working Families site in 2017 – the first outside Marion County. Today, the YMCA serves about 130 adults annually through the program.  

“The YMCA of Morgan County is a trusted partner in the community. They have a proven record of serving individuals in Morgan County,” Monk said. “They know the needs of their community, and they are able to serve individuals in a way that is specific to that county and their needs.” 

Through the Center for Working Families, the YMCA of Morgan County helps people with financial stability and workforce development. Clients are referred through a tight-knit network of local nonprofits. Someone may be referred to the YMCA for help with a single service, like utility assistance, and then, with the help of coaches, they begin planning for the future – moving closer to financial stability.   

"There is a large percentage of our county that is either ALICE families or in poverty. And those families really just need a leg up, an opportunity to be able to thrive on their own,” said Dave Nash, executive director/CEO of the YMCA of Morgan County. “With this collaboration, we are able to work together to help make sure that everybody gets fed, that everybody has the opportunity to be able to find a safe place to live, that everybody has the opportunity to get training on how to spend the money that they have, and even to help people find better opportunities to make money, better jobs, careers. 

“We all work together to try to make sure that this county can support the people who live here – and to make it a great place to live.”  

The YMCA also partners with another local nonprofit, Churches in Mission, for Center for Working Families programming.  

For nearly 40 years, Churches in Mission has provided food, clothing, rent and utility assistance, classes, coaching and programs to families in need in Morgan County.  

"We have a large number of families who come to us for assistance with food, clothing and other basics. Having the Center for Working Families operate in our space gives the families coming to us an opportunity to look at the other needs they may have,” said Susan Haynes, executive director of Churches in Mission.  

In 2023, United Way increased its Center for Working Families grant in Morgan County, allowing the YMCA to expand coaching services in partnership with Churches in Mission.  

“One of the most important things about this partnership is that we are able to meet families where they are,” Haynes said. “... The Center for Working Families, our Pathways to Success Program, all of those work together to help our families overcome some of these short-term anxieties so they can really focus on some of the longer-term needs and how to strengthen their family for the future.” 

As a Center for Working Families coach, Donnielle Fowler connects clients with assistance to pay their bills and helps them learn how to budget and establish or repair their credit. Her colleague helps clients write resumes and cover letters. 

They visit Churches in Mission twice a week in Mooresville and Martinsville. And Fowler met Dan while coaching him at Foundations House. 

“It makes my heart happy to see the amazing things that Dan has been able to achieve through our program and being involved with us. He’s just so inspiring,” said Fowler, community needs coordinator for the YMCA of Morgan County.  

In 2025, Dan was among the first group of men to graduate from Foundations House, Stability First’s new men’s recovery home. Stability First is also an accredited community-based organization with United Way.  

There, Dan gained a family. He wanted to stay in the recovery field, helping others as he had been helped.  

Stability First hired Dan to work at Foundations House, and after nine months of studying, training and work, Dan recently earned his certification as a Certified Peer Recovery Coach—Associate (CPRC-A).  

Today, he works as a peer navigator for Stability First, connecting people in need with resources, guiding them along the way toward improving their lives.  

“It seemed insurmountable for a decade. ... I put my trust in the process,” Dan said. “What could be accomplished in a year and a half’s time is amazing. It inspires me to wonder where I’m going to be in five years. And also what other people can do in such a short amount of time if you just let people help you and you’re open to it. 

“It’s an amazing thing, what can be done if you just let it happen, get out of the way.”   

This story appears in United Way of Central Indiana’s 2025-2026 annual report.