Lindsey grew up most of her life in Fremont and attended both Ellis and Sanborn Regional High School, graduating in 2012. Her younger siblings grew up with Austin and knew him well. After Austin passed away there was an increase in young deaths because of drug addiction and suicide. Lindsey grew up in the same town and knew some of these individuals from her time in school. 

​

"It really shook the community. There was this numbness that came over the community, and kids were wondering who would be gone next", 

​

I decided to get involved because I genuinely cared about the youth that were growing up, surrounded by loss and hopelessness. I had no degree or job experience in starting a non-profit but I had passion and eagerness to learn.

​

"My passion for this comes from my four younger siblings," she said. "They have so much talent and so much driving them to be successful. When things don't play out, it's too easy for people to turn to drugs and bad things. Society says success is one-track, but it's not. This place is the community's," she added. "We're just here to guide them."

"Community center born from grief" - Eagle Tribune 2017

​

Lindsey has spent four and a half years volunteering her time learning, implementing and helping Austin17House become an established organization. In 2021 the Board of Directors received funding to hire her full-time. Her goal is to continue to develop ways of building confidence, creativity and resilience in the youth and families that participate at Austin17House.