Aliyah Beyer didn't need help. Yes, severe anxiety and depression made her life hard. So hard she couldn't get out of bed some days. But still—she could handle it on her own. She was used to taking care of things herself. And she was used to being alone, despite growing up in an adoptive family with ten children. For as long as she can remember, Aliyah has wanted nothing more than to fit in and belong.…
Ranch Voice
Laura doesn't have a perfect life. She talks to her dad only occasionally and isn't allowed contact with her mother because of her drug use. But she knows she is in a better place and attributes much of her success to the Ranch. "Without the Ranch, I'd probably be in Juvie, running away, drinking, drugs. I'd have probably gotten into hard drugs and who knows where I'd be right now."…
School is so much more than a place to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic. In school, children learn how to work in teams, how to build relationships with their peers and adults, and how to manage their emotions and feelings when in a bustling and energy-filled environment. If kids in treatment can learn to operate within those environments, rather than isolated from them, they have a better chance of success when they leave treatment. School gives them a place to practice the new skills they are learning in a "normal" environment.…
Elizabeth Muralt is on a mission. Her mission is to share her story with children in the foster care system and to advocate for policy change that helps foster care youth live more normal lives. "I want kids in foster care to know they can be successful despite their circumstances. That they can turn negative experiences into positive ones," Elizabeth said. "I couldn't imagine a successful future because I had never seen a successful person who grew up in the foster care system. I didn't know success was attainable for me."…
Last summer, three Ranch residents, Courtney, Sierra, and Megan, traveled to Medora with Amber Benham, Horse Program Coordinator, to hike and look for wild horses. The idea for the trip started when the girls were at the horse barn, talking about how they'd love to see wild horses. Amber told them about the wild horses in Medora, and when she learned none of them had been there, she planned the trip. The special outing celebrated the progress the three girls had made at the Ranch, rewarded them for work they did around the horse barn over the summer, and served as a last hurrah for Courtney, who was discharging at the end of the week.…
Anthony didn't plan to graduate from high school. For as long as he can remember, his plan was to drop out of school as soon as he reached the legal dropout age. Yet, he was one of six students to graduate from Dakota Memorial School (DMS) in May, and he gave a commencement speech during the ceremony. It was a proud moment for Anthony. "All the things I've been through, I never really thought I'd graduate," he said. Anthony's graduation was a dream come true for his parents an older brother. For Anthony, graduation was proof he can do and accomplish more than he even dared to dream.…
To learn, children must be connected to, or engaged with, what's going on in the classroom. It's a challenge for every teacher to make their classroom a place kids want to be. It is even more challenging in classrooms at the Ranch, where students have had year after year of negative school experiences.…
As I interviewed Ranch therapists for this article, I was struck by a few common themes. The first was the importance of the relationship between the child and the therapist. Every therapist said the relationship comes first. Without that, nothing the therapist says or does will work. While each therapist has his or her own way of connecting to children, they all stressed that building a trusting relationship is their number one goal.…
Five young women from Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch attended DigiGirlz, a high-tech camp hosted by Microsoft that gives middle and high school girls an in-depth look at careers in technology.…
Karen Leeseberg has been supporting Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, either herself or through her parents, since she was born. Her father was a pastor, so the family contributed to a lot of Lutheran organizations. In Karen's mind, Ranch honey is tied to fond memories of her childhood.…
Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch staff are dedicated to providing the best care and opportunities for kids at risk, and it doesn't stop at the Ranch's residential treatment centers. This past year, Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch Thrift Stores partnered with two different organizations, Bismarck Legacy High School, and CREATE (Career Readiness Education and Training Experience) to help teens and young adults learn important job skills. Participants in both programs worked directly with thrift store staff, learning skills they can apply in their everyday lives.…
Ranch Thrift Stores were launched in the 1980s to create sustainability and stability for Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch. The Thrift Stores give folks another way to support the Ranch and help provide the therapy and other services our kids need to heal. Day after day, week after week, month after month, a steady stream of random and mixed items arrive at the doors of the nine Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch Thrift Stores. Toasters, clothes, hats, mittens, ties, wall hangings, knickknacks, pottery, glassware, yarn, home goods, and more are stuffed into grocery bags, garbage bags, boxes, totes, and laundry baskets, and dropped off at one of nine Ranch Thrift Stores (eight in North Dakota, one in Minnesota).…
Benji Dick, a 48-year-old North Dakota farmer, uses his head, as well as his heart, to make decisions about giving. He takes advantage of an often-overlooked giving tool for farmers--gifting farm commodities, including grain and legumes, directly to charity.…
Alana Wilhelm, art teacher at Dakota Memorial School, uses the power of art to inspire and heal children at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch. Many Ranch kids are able to express their perspective, ideas, and feelings through visual metaphors and concepts in color, shape, and line--even when they are unable to express those feelings in words.…
George and Eleanor Krueger, Monroe, MI, are well aware of the traumas many children endure. In George's 30-year career in law enforcement and Eleanor's 44 years as a school teacher, they both saw firsthand the impact abuse and neglect had on children in their community. Now that they are both retired, they continue to minister to troubled children by supporting Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, both financially and with their time.…
The GROW (God Rewards Our Work) Garden Sale began this year and is already proving to be a success. A spinoff of the event previously known as BLT Day, GROW was organized and implemented by Ranch kids. The idea was to hold a one-day garden sale in the Minot Thrift Store parking lot—selling plants and items grown or created by the kids.…
Horses are highly sensitive and have a unique ability to read human emotions. Sometimes they provide comfort to a child who is anxious or depressed. Other times they mirror the child's emotions by backing away or becoming skittish if the child is feeling anxious or angry. This cues the child to identify their emotions, and to discover what they might be doing to make the horse feel unsafe.…
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, Dakota Memorial School students picked up their pens and began writing stories of magnificent creations. Students wrote about dragons, sword fights, puppies, and big cities. They also wrote about their experiences surviving years of trauma, neglect, and abuse.…
Kids at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch are making music—they are learning how to play the ukulele! The ukuleles at the Fargo campus are being lent to use by Grace Lutheran School, and the Minot ukuleles were donated by a couple that goes above and beyond for our kids. With their generosity and a special discount from the ukulele company, Deaconess Kelly Jacob's dream of teaching the kids to play the ukulele became possible.…
Because of how and where they were raised, many kids come to the Ranch without basic health, self-care, and hygiene skills. Some haven't had a toothbrush. Others weren't told, or didn't have the opportunity, to shower or experience a sit-down meal. And or others, seemingly simple daily living skills triggered the trauma they experienced. Children also arrive at the Ranch with little to no histories of going to the doctor, dentist, or eye doctor.…
Some people have the incredible ability to turn grief into generosity. That is certainly the case with long-time Ranch donor, Marlys Lindgren, from Hutchinson, MN.…
Cher Baggett's classroom was a barnyard...literally. Hay, pine chips, heat lamps, and chickens. On the other side of Dakota Memorial School (DMS), the on-campus school of Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, high school students were learning the math and science behind boat design and flotation, and ultimately, building a wooden boat!…
NYPUM (National Youth Program Using Minibikes), a nationwide network of nearly 50 programs sponsored by the National Honda Motor Company, is an innovative way to engage at-risk youth. NYPUM positively affects kids' social, emotional, and psychological development.…
Teachers at Dakota Memorial School work hard to create trauma-sensitive classrooms that serve as safe spaces for kids at the Ranch to learn, grow, and find success.…
Ranch Wellness Coordinators help kids build healthy habits they can take with them after they leave the Ranch.…