St. Joseph's Community Health Foundation (SJCHF) distributed $15,535 to Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch to underwrite the costs of updating two Refocus Rooms in Dakota Memorial School, Minot—the on-campus school of Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch. Through the SJCHF's Twice Blessed program, we were able to raise $10,535 in addition to the SJCHF match grant of $5,000 to underwrite the entire project.
Refocus Rooms are used by Dakota Memorial School (DMS) as a safe place for students to refocus, regulate their emotions and behaviors, and practice coping skills before returning to the classroom. Children who come to Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch are dealing with mental health and behavioral challenges, trauma, abuse, and/or neglect. The grant and donations will make it possible to install mats in the refocus rooms, providing greater safety to the students we serve.
DMS students are primarily from Minot and the surrounding communities. The benefits of this project go beyond the doors of Dakota Memorial School, impacting the lives of everyone involved with the children we serve. Schools, families, neighbors, and friends all benefit when a child with complex needs gets help. In addition to providing DMS students with a quality education, school staff provide valuable tools and information to school districts and parents as children transition back to their home schools.
Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch is a Christian residential treatment and educational center for children and their families. We help the most troubled, complicated, 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, provides a personalized education for kids who have psychiatric, behavioral, and trauma issues.
The mission of St. Joseph's Community Health Foundation is to promote healthy and sustainable communities by providing financial gifts, strengthening relationships, and supporting local initiatives that impact the mental, physical, and spiritual well-being of residents in Northwest-Northcentral North Dakota.