Lester* is one of our younger youths. He has struggled with Christianity and religion in general because he has been told by multiple people since he was little that he was going to hell. Lester was convinced by a staff to go to Chapel one Sunday, and I saw him for the first time in the crowd. He was crying. After Chapel, I heard his staff and a peer talking to him, and they encouraged him to talk with me. Lester then came up to me and asked, with tears in his eyes, “Is it true?” I was confused. “Is what true?” I replied. “That God really loves us, and that heaven is real?” My heart broke. Was this the first time he had ever heard the gospel? We prayed and I shared with him several verses in scripture pointing to God’s love, acceptance, and grace. The next week, he was in Chapel and has been almost every week since.
*For the privacy of the youth served at the Ranch, names have been changed. Image(s) shown here are a representation of those served at the Ranch.
SMART (Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment) is an innovative mental health therapy for children and adolescents who have experienced complex trauma that helps them with emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal regulation.
SMART utilizes an array of therapeutic equipment, such as weighted blankets, balance beams, fitness balls, and large cushions that are used in shared play to support children’s natural ways of regulating their bodies and their emotions that facilitate attachment-building and to allow for embodied processing of traumatic experiences. This treatment model widens children’s window of tolerance for both positive and negative emotional states and for interpersonal connection so that healthy development can continue.
Life can be full of tough choices, but for some youth at YBGR, the hardest decisions of their life are faced at a very young age. Kensi was 16 when she was placed in YBGR’s Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility. She had been abused by a family member, and she was struggling with what to do, how to heal, and whether she should testify against her abuser in court. One Sunday after Chapel service, Kensi approached Chaplain John Boeder and asked to talk with him. In their first meeting, she asked a lot of questions like “What do I do to get better?” and “How does God love me if this happened?” so they talked for some time about the importance of both mental health AND spiritual health.
For most people, dogs can brighten an otherwise gloomy day with their devotion and unconditional love. This is especially true for children in the residential treatment program who are dealing with severe emotional trauma.
Carlee felt lost and hopeless when she entered YBGR in the winter of 2022. Her struggles with mental health issues had led to bullying at school. She had given up on her music and felt that she didn’t have a future. After arriving at YBGR, Carlee started working with Audrey, one of YBGR’s therapists, and together they worked on processing Carlee’s trauma and challenges. She also started classes at Yellowstone Academy (YA), the fully accredited K-12 school on YBGR’s campus, which included a music class.
Despite temperatures soaring into the 90’s, Summer YoungLife Camp was celebrated at YBGR over the last weekend of July. 
Susan Bravebird came to YBGR in the Fall of 2021 from foster care. Dealing with mental health issues and the after effects of trauma had caused her to fall behind her peers not only academically but also in basic skills like telling time or knowing the value of coins. As all youth in the residential treatment program do, she began attending classes at YBGR’s Yellowstone Academy, and she and her teachers focused on getting her caught up academically through the Credit Recovery program. Her therapist Audrey purchased workbooks, a child’s cash register, play money, and a toy clock to help Susan get up to speed with her peers and not feel so self-conscious about her lack of basic life skills. She was able to master those and more.
