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- Indy home was built with attachments - beyond nuts and bolts
- Home
- Thrive by IU Health
- Indy home was built with attachments - beyond nuts and bolts
October 15, 2024
Indy home was built with attachments - beyond nuts and bolts
IU Health supports mother of two, with Habitat for Humanity build.
By TJ Banes, IU Health Senior Journalist, tfender1@iuhealth.org
There are connections around every corner of Briannca Kirtley’s new house. It’s not just the footings and foundation that support her home; it’s the people who built it.

“I think God is intentional in my life, so I think it was divine timing that so much of my life was spent at IU Health and then, team members came to help build my home,” said Kirtley. Both her parents, Antonio Kirtley, and Tanesha McGowan were IU Health employees, and she has a long list of aunts and cousins who have dedicated more 70 years of combined experience to IU Health. Then there are Kirtley’s children, both daughters, now 6 and 2, were born at IU Health hospitals. Her oldest daughter was born at Methodist Hospital and her youngest was born at 28 weeks and spent time in NICU at Riley Hospital.

More than a hundred sets of hands - belonging to IU Health team members - touched her Habitat for Humanity home as part of a service project. Countless hours were dedicated to constructing wall panels that came together like pieces of a puzzle.
“This was an opportunity to serve with my co-workers in a unique and fun way and a way to serve the community in a direct and personal way,” said Jay Newlin, director of managed care and underpayments. He was joined by IU Health’s Revenue Management team. Newlin has been with IU Health for eight years and has worked on two other Habitat for Humanity builds.
Habitat for Humanity works in more than 70 countries and has helped more than 59 million people improve their living conditions since 1976.
“To work on the builds all you need is a willingness to show up and swing a hammer. Clear directions are provided for you,” said Newlin.
But hammer-swinging wasn’t all the team members provided for Kirtley, who worked alongside IU Health employees.

Research shows that the homeownership program leads to benefits beyond housing, including improved mental health, a decreased reliance on social services, and improved academic achievement of children. Last year, Habitat for Humanity provided 165 housing solutions for local residents. This year, the organization has set a goal of 300 housing solutions.
“I was a full-time working single mom and putting in sweat equity is part of the requirement for a Habitat build. Working alongside this group was so much fun and so encouraging,” said Kirtley, a graduate of Arsenal Technical High School. She graduated from Indiana State University, with a bachelor’s degree in public health and works in health insurance.
Before the Habitat build, Kirtley said she was renting a home, and working on improving her credit in hopes of moving her family into a home.

Work on the walls began last October, and the pieces remained in storage until March. Kirtley moved into her home on Aug. 9. She is getting settled but still needs a few things like a washer and dryer. The home is located on the city’s westside - an area that IU Health’s Community Outreach and Engagement team serves at a food pantry and also offers residents free blood pressure checks.
“When this all came together, it became more than a three-bedroom home. It was like working with IU Health employees brought my life full circle. We’d start with lots of wood and once we began to create rooms, I saw notes and scripture written on the pieces of wood. They truly blessed my home.”