People of Housing Security:
Mary Morgan

From living abroad, to starting a civic engagement organization, to being the inaugural director of Heading Home, Mary Morgan has always had a deep curiosity to understand the world around her.

In her youth, Mary grew up in a rural edge of Indianapolis. She has fond memories of exploring surrounding farms with her neighborhood friends. Mary recalled a memory from grade school when her mother told her to not hold hands with a certain boy at school because he wasn’t clean. At the time, Mary was confused by her mother’s words. But when Mary grew older, her mother provided some insight about that bias.

Mary’s mother shared that she experienced extreme poverty when she was a child. She grew up in an inter-generational house that lacked running water and indoor plumbing. Mary explained that her mother “was embarrassed by her poverty.” 

Gaining insight into her mother’s past helped her understand her mother’s beliefs and how they impacted her own beliefs. She added that “You can absorb biases from your family.” Mary explained how as she grew older she began to feel challenged to confront her biases. 

In junior high and high school, Mary was an avid reader and writer. These passions shaped her academic pursuits. Mary studied English and political science at Indiana University. After graduation, Mary felt a strong desire to join the Peace Corps.

“I knew I wanted to travel but I felt like that if I just went to a place to visit, I wouldn’t understand it. I didn’t want to be a tourist. I wanted to live somewhere and learn another culture,” Mary said. 

Mary shared that serving in the Peace Corp was a transformational experience. She was stationed to serve in the Central African Republic.  “I was a Midwestern, middle class white young woman and I had never traveled much outside of the United States and I certainly never witnessed the kind of different culture and deep poverty that is still in the Central African Republic.”

While there, Mary taught English to elementary and high school students. Living abroad taught Mary many things. One significant memory she recalled was what it felt like to be illiterate. She spoke very little French and didn’t know the native language. She remembers it being difficult at times to rely on others for basic communication, but people were often generous and kind to her.

“And one of the things that I love about this job is that I feel we are making a difference on a really deep Social problem in our own way and in our own corner of the world. And that’s a powerful thing.”

Upon returning to the U.S., Mary recalled having mixed feelings, including guilt, relief, and gratitude. She remembers her first grocery shopping experience being overwhelming. All of the choices immobilized her. In comparison, there were a lot less options during her service in the Peace Corps. “It was just that juxtaposition of such poverty with such abundance,” Mary said. 

Following the Peace Corps, Mary went back to Indiana University for masters degree in applied linguistics. During grad school she met her husband, Dave Askins. They then went to teach English in China for 2 years at a medical university, working mostly with doctors and nurses who were interested in getting trained in English-speaking countries. 

When they returned to the states, they went to Rochester, NY. While her husband studied at the University of Rochester, Mary did freelance work for the Rochester Business Journal and eventually became a full-time reporter there. After a few years, Mary and her husband moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Mary took a business reporting job at the Ann Arbor News. She worked in different roles at that newspaper for 12 years, eventually becoming opinion page editor.

Mary later started two different initiatives in Ann Arbor. She and Dave launched a local news site, The Ann Arbor Chronicle, which focused on local government issues. They ran The Chronicle for six years, then started a nonprofit called CivCity that focused on local civic engagement. 

Ready for a change of scenery and career, Mary and her husband decided to move back to Bloomington at the end of 2018. Mary worked as the Director of Advocacy for the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. For Mary, this job was a great re-introduction to the community.  

While at the Chamber, Mary worked with other community members to update the Heading Home Plan to make homelessness rare, brief and non-repeating. The original plan was developed in 2014, then revisited during the pandemic in 2020. Participants were divided into committees and Mary was a part of the Promising Practices committee. During revisions, a missing piece of the original was identified – the plan lacked a dedicated implementation team!

In December 2021, Mary was hired as Heading Home’s inaugural director. Mary said that when she first started the role, “it was a learning mountain.”  

Part of Mary’s role involves working with social service providers to understand systemic barriers. Additionally, she works with funding partners to coordinate innovative strategies to address barriers. 

“A lot of times people underestimate their ability to change the world and so you’re almost not allowing yourself to be part of the solution,” Mary said. “And one of the things that I love about this job is that I feel we are making a difference on a really deep social problem in our own way and in our own corner of the world. And that’s a powerful thing.”

When she’s not working, you can find Mary cooking or baking. She enjoys spending time with her husband Dave, especially on his quests to photograph Bloomington’s hawks and herons. 

About the People of Housing Security: This series highlights the work of those committed to improving the lives of residents in South Central Indiana. Find all the articles in this series here.