The Elmer & Kaya Berg Foundation granted $1,000 to Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch to purchase necessary toiletry, clothing, and home items for the Caring Closet at Dakota Memorial School, Fargo.
Dakota Memorial School, Fargo, serves children ages 12-18, who have experienced severe trauma, psychiatric issues, and/or developmental challenges. The student population includes children in residential treatment at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, as well as Day Students who live in Fargo and the surrounding communities. Day Students have not found success in traditional public schools and need individualized education focused on meeting their unique social, behavioral, and mental health needs.
Many kids at the Ranch come from unstable, even harmful environments. Their homes have never been a place of refuge, they have broken relationships with family and have often experienced abuse, neglect, and/or trauma. Students in the Day Program at Dakota Memorial School are often dealing with a gamut of challenges, so providing them with basic needs items found in the Caring Closet means they can worry about one less thing and focus on finding success in school and just being kids.
Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch is a Christ-centered residential treatment and educational center for children and their families. We help the most troubled, complex, and amazing kids by providing best-in-class psychiatric therapy and trauma-informed care, where we look kids in the eye, walk with them, and help them become their best selves. In addition to Residential Treatment Facilities in Fargo, Bismarck, and Minot, the Ranch provides Outpatient Psychiatric and Psychological Services, and Spiritual Life Programs. Our on-campus school, Dakota Memorial School (DMS), provides individualized education for kids who have psychiatric, behavioral, and trauma issues.