Halfway Houses Help to Improve Lives

Accomplished business consultant Thomas Stoughton supports technology, civic, education, and business development initiatives that benefit his native Indiana. Thomas Stoughton of Indiana is particularly committed to supporting halfway houses and other addiction recovery efforts.

Also known as sober living homes, halfway houses are drug-free environments designed for individuals who struggle with addiction, mental health, or any other issue that makes living on their own difficult. By staying at such a house, residents can develop the self-confidence and skills they need to re-enter society after an inpatient or outpatient recovery program, homelessness, or prison without subjecting themselves to the triggering environment that likely led to their addiction in the first place.

Not every halfway house operates in the same way. For instance, some may require that residents pass a breathalyzer test or drug screening before being welcomed into the home. However, halfway houses share some general similarities. The individuals living at the home must commit to a sober lifestyle and contribute to the house by completing regular chores. Unlike inpatient programs, residents of halfway houses are allowed to come and go as they please in accordance with the house’s rules.

Several studies have demonstrated the efficacy of halfway houses over the years. According to these, one of the biggest obstacles people face to staying sober is not having a stable, sober environment. Halfway houses fill this void and allow people to live without as many temptations to go back to drugs or alcohol. Further, the 12-step group affiliation at many halfway houses leads to higher abstinence from addiction.

International Tours Program at INVS Lets Students Explore the World

Indiana Virtual School
Image: indianavirtual.com

The former president of Business Consulting Incorporated, Thomas Stoughton is an Indiana-based business consultant with a history of developing nonprofit boards and initiatives. These efforts include the 2011 creation of the Indiana Virtual School (INVS) on whose Board Thomas Stoughton served until 2015.

INVS enables students to earn their high school diploma and prepares them for success in college. The only public charter school in the state using the Codie award-winning Pearson & Florida Virtual curriculum, it offers exclusively fully online courses and options for advanced placement and honors classes.

INVS also partners with Academic Excellence in Travel (AET) to give students the chance to expand their education beyond the virtual classroom and explore the real world through opportunities such as the International Tours program. A nonprofit organization, AET provides the means for individuals from all economic levels to travel to foreign countries. Participants will visit Great Britain, the ruins in Rome, and castles throughout Germany and France while learning about their cultural significance. Furthermore, their experiences will draw from their school studies, thereby broadening their horizons and understanding of the world.

The Public Library – An Open, Accessible “Third Place”

 

The Public Library

Indiana-based consultant Thomas Stoughton has spent over three decades working with companies and other organizations devoted to educational, civic, and community-building goals. He has additionally served as a board member of several Indiana nonprofits such as Progress House. Thomas Stoughton’s accomplishments include working to activate the potential of the state’s public library system through innovations such as in-library cafes and by placing libraries in neighborhood strip malls to increase accessibility.

Community leaders across the country are increasingly viewing libraries as vital “third places” in the civic landscape. Librarians developing this idea note that the home is traditionally viewed as the “first place,” with the workplace being the “second place.”

But people also need a “third place” to gather informally to pursue self-directed learning and creative projects, to share ideas, and to build a sense of community in face-to-face encounters. Such a space by its nature is open and egalitarian and provides opportunities for individual cultural enrichment, as well as for the formation of new groups devoted to a range of projects that further the public good.

As neutral public spaces, “third” places do not advocate for any particular organization or point of view; rather, they allow people the freedom to explore, discuss, create, and plan for the future together in organic ways. This has always been one of the qualities that make the public library so distinctive, and so necessary, and why libraries all over the world have become the natural focal point for further development of the “third place” concept.

IDOE Celebrates Rising Graduation Rates

Indiana Department of Education
Image: doe.in.gov

A former associate professor at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Thomas Stoughton has spent more than 30 years as a consultant for public sector entities, political campaigns, and corporations in Indiana. Thomas Stoughton has also advised the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) and conducted a tech study on its behalf.

IDOE recently published its 2018 data on state graduation rates, which had risen from the previous year. Though graduation rates in all groups rose steadily between 2017 and 2018, students of Asian and American Indian background saw the biggest surge. Moreover, Indiana’s English language learners saw their graduation rates increase from 60.74 to 69.61 percent. Overall, the state graduation rate rose nearly 1 percent, to 88.11 percent in 2018.

According to Indiana superintendent of public education Jennifer McCormick, the state’s growing graduation rates are thanks, in no small part, to the diligent work of local schools and their dedication to students. Her office will continue to collaborate with school districts across the state to further support students on their journey toward graduation.