When Amanda arrived at Kohls with her lodge mates last week for YBGR’s annual Secret Santa shopping trip, she was overwhelmed. She had never gone shopping at a store where the clothes were new. Everything she owned was a hand-me-down or from a garage sale or Goodwill. It all felt too good to be true. Why would some stranger want her to have money to spend on herself for new clothes and shoes?
Amanda didn’t even know where to start. She had a list of what she needed and asked her staff shopping partner Misty for help. Together, the two hit the clearance racks and got Amanda everything on her list and then some. As they were checking out, Amanda started to cry when she saw all her items with their new tags and unfaded logos. She couldn’t stop thanking everyone.
“I never knew that people could be so generous, to care that I had new clothes and a Merry Christmas, and not want something back from me. I don’t know these people and they don’t know me, but they wanted me to feel special and have a good day. It was like what Misty said in our first Bible study about Jesus’ love being unconditional. Some people love like that, and I want to as well,” said Amanda. Thanks to all our donors who made sure Amanda and other youth in the residential program have a Merry Christmas!
*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.
Getting your first job is a rite of passage, and for most youth, it is accomplished with relatively little difficulty. But for some, getting a job can be an ordeal. When Melissa turned fifteen, she wanted to get a job and start earning her own money. Her family didn’t have a lot, and she wanted to contribute and start saving as well. When she talked with prospective employers, however, she struggled to sit still and have a conversation and was having difficulty getting hired. Through school, she was referred to YBGR’s Supported Employment Program (SEP) and started meeting with Erica Kern, an SEP Specialist. Together, they worked on the skills and tools she needed to find employment. After a few weeks, Erica noticed that Melissa was able to have great conversations, as long as she had a task to focus on. Erica reached out to a few potential employers and was able to arrange a working interview for Melissa at a local stable. “It was so great! I was able to groom the horse while they asked me questions. Brushing the horse took all the nerves away, and I was able to get the job because I could calm my mind and body with work. I am so excited to have a job now! And I get to work with the horses each day,” says a grateful Melissa.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Samantha* struggled in school. Her body seemed to have a mind of its own, often resulting in very exaggerated gestures. She didn’t have any friends because she was the “weird kid” who often felt too big, and sometimes too small, for her own body.
When Chris arrived at Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch, he literally had nothing but the clothes on his back. Chris is an Alaska Native youth that had been bounced around the foster care system his entire life. Because of his mental health struggles, he was never able to find a forever home. “I felt so unloved and unwanted. Everything I ever got was second hand. I was an afterthought and that only made my struggles worse. I didn’t have anything that was just mine and that wouldn’t just go away when I was moved on to another place,” recalls Chris.
Sara had never played a team sport before she arrived at YBGR. She was tall and uncoordinated and was always the last one picked for a team during gym class.
