O Holy Night continues to be my favorite Christmas hymn. The song’s beautiful refrain echoes in my mind … O holy night the stars are brightly shining It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth…
Blog
As I write this I am starting my fifth month at the Ranch! I’ve been here for a quarter of a year! Wow! The time has been filled with a whole range of experiences—from hearing heartbreaking and tough stories, to seeing our kids wrestle with trauma and the effects it has on them, to seeing our kids behave with kindness and resilience.…
When Steven*, a former resident at the Ranch, was planning his wedding, he contacted Pastor Rick Jones to see if he could be married in the Chapel on the Minot Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch campus.…
One day last summer I was reading a book and came across a line that spoke with me. In her book, "The Tenth Island," Diana Marcum wrote, "It had been a tumultuous week, and it occurred to me that in all levels of crisis, it is a good idea to lie down outside and look up."…
Ron and Shirley Hankel’s faith inspires them to financially support the Ranch—where they are helping to share Christ’s love and forgiveness with kids at the Ranch.…
Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch psychologist Dr. Meryl Willert, answers the question, "I keep hearing about autism and the 'spectrum.' What does that really mean and what does autism have to do with trauma?"…
Thanks to a grant from the Midco Foundation, Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch was able to purchase an audiometer for the Bismarck campus. The new audiometer allows the Bismarck nurses to complete hearing tests at the Ranch, rather than having to take kids out of school to undergo hearing tests off campus.…
First Aid is no longer just for cuts and bruises that can be seen on the outside of the body. Researchers are now recognizing the importance of Mental Health First Aid. Thanks to a grant from the North Dakota Community Foundation, the Ranch can use the Mental Health First Aid curriculum to train all of its employees.…
While November brings reminders of cold and snow, I like to see it as an opportunity to look forward to Thanksgiving and Advent. Thanksgiving reminds us to focus our thoughts and lives on gratitude. Advent, and the Advent Wreath which symbolizes eternal life, reminds us we are all a part of the circle of life—a circle of life made possible by God.…
In 1974, Art and Grace first became acquainted with Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch. Their interest in the state, and in children, led to their ongoing support of the Ranch. They made their first cash gift in 1974, and continued their support throughout the rest of Art’s life. Grace continues to support the Ranch today.…
I’ve always known “Trauma-Sensitive Classroom” was an important concept in education, but I wasn’t exactly sure what it looked like in my lesson plans or day-to-day interactions with students. I’m going into the teaching field, and I consider myself a nice person—that should be enough to indicate that I’m considerate to students and their trauma, right? Wrong. My assumptions of what it means to react to student behaviors in a trauma-sensitive manner were way off base.…
It looked like just a swing. But for Kassidy* it was an opening. She had sat in many offices with adults who tried to get her to “open up” about her trauma.…
As I’ve been settling into my new role as the Deaconess/Spiritual Life Coordinator at the Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch in Minot, I’ve had the blessing of coordinating the Hope Notes Pen Pal Program—and I love it! Hope Notes pairs our amazing youth with kind and supportive people from all over the United States. They send cards and letters to their Ranch pen pal once a month.…
Ed Pohland is a slight man, with an easy smile, hands that belong to an artist, and a deep faith in God.…
Hopelessness, helplessness, loss … I felt each … like a pit in my stomach … as I walked through a state Museum of Mental Health on one of my recent trips. On one wall I saw a picture of a fearful child from years ago, clinging to the leg of an adult. The child was 10 years old. No one had ever stopped to give him a name. He was known only as “boy.” Abandoned and alone, this was called “treatment” in the 1920’s. My heart hurt as I looked at that museum wall. No child should ever have had to endure “care” such as this.…
Have you ever heard the old saying, “When you look good, you feel good?” In many cases, the inverted version of that sentence is also true, “When you feel good, you look good.” Sometimes, the kids at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch don’t feel good OR look good. The reasons vary by child, but commonly fall into a few different categories.…
Writing can be a powerful tool to help kids heal.…
The Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison, President of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod will be a featured speaker at the upcoming Faith in Action Mercy Conference on October 27 in Fargo. This one-day event, held at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, 7151 15th St. S., Fargo, will bring Lutherans together to re-imagine the work of the mercy in the church.…
“Our kids are unable to pay attention to the positive things in the world around them,” says Dr. Wayne Martinsen, psychiatrist at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch. “Instead they are mindful to the awful things—the tone of voice when someone is angry and is going to hurt them, the leer from someone before they sexually abuse them.” The more they practice noticing and paying attention to the positive things they are experiencing in the moment, the more positive experiences they’ll have to reflect upon in the future.…
We talk to people every day who have questions about the Ranch and our kids. This is the first installment of a series, “Frequently Asked Questions about the Ranch.”…
I love the energy of the new school year. But, I realized going back to school is not so exciting for everyone when I shared a lunch table with one of our kids (I will call him Allan) on the 4th day of school. He was talking about his school experience, which was filled with negativity. Allan told me school was a waste of time because people in his family don’t graduate. When I asked why he would say that, Allan said, “That’s just the way it is.”…
“The fact that the Ranch weds spiritual life and healing is what gets me to North Dakota in December when it’s 18 below,” says Rev. William Simmons (Pastor Bill). Pastor Bill, a member of the Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch Foundation board of directors, comes to Ranch board meetings from St. Louis, MO—where he enjoys a much warmer climate, is recently retired from his position as the administrative pastor at Christ Memorial Lutheran Church, and enjoys family time with his wife, Gail, their four children, and four grandchildren.…
“Minot?? How do you pronounce that? Wait, where is Minot? North Dakota?!?! That’s like right up by Canada, right? You know it gets cold up there? Like super/don’t want to go outside for half the year/your eyelashes freeze together/plug your car in cold?!?!”…
Deaconess Kelly Jacob recently joined Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch as Spiritual Life Coordinator. In her new position, Jacob cares for the spiritual needs of the residents of Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch in Minot, ND, through the presentation of the Gospel, scriptural mentoring, moral guidance, and community involvement.…
The Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities International (CARF) announced that Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch has been accredited for a period of three years. This accreditation decision represents the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and shows the organization’s substantial conformance to the CARF standards.…