Volunteers from St. Mark’s Cathedral, a downtown Minneapolis congregation, feel called to serve their community. They have chosen 180 Degrees’ Great River Landing program in Minneapolis as a place to focus their efforts. Their committee is called “Fresh Start” and reflects their mission.  

Longtime 180 Degrees supporter Linda Brandt helps to lead Fresh Start, and her calling to help the formerly incarcerated has deep roots. Her career includes working as a public health nurse and founding the Rural AIDS Action Network in 1991. During this work she discovered that many of the patients that sought help from the organization because of their AIDS diagnoses were incarcerated. This experience gave her a strong sense of compassion and empathy for those in the criminal justice system, and she joined a pen pal program with incarcerated individuals over the following years. That work and compassion inspires her to this day in her volunteerism with 180 Degrees.  

180 Degrees provides essential support services in Minnesota including safe, affordable housing to families, shelter youth and adults, and provide groceries, transportation, and resources. Our many clients who turn to 180 Degrees for support due to crisis are especially vulnerable during this tumultuous time. 

To meet immediate needs, we have established a special Emergency Fund.  Donations to this fund will directly fund urgent, immediate needs of those clients and staff directly impacted by ICE operations.   

Your donation of $10, $15, $20 will provide gift cards for essential needs like groceries, household essentials, gas, and rent.   

​Thank you for your continued support of 180 Degrees and especially those in immediate need at this time. Community is essential, and we’re honored to have you in ours. ​

Jessica, 19, did not know how to get help when she reached a breaking point with her mental health. She was self isolating, experiencing severe anxiety and depression and lacked a strong support system. When she started running out of funds, she knew she needed to get help or risk being vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking. Then she arrived at Brittany's Place and staff convinced her to try talking with the onsite therapist.

She got a diagnostic assessment and went to therapy for a month, when suddenly she made the decision to try and leave to succeed on her own. Staff did not hear from her or see her for several months until one day, she asked to come back and try again. This was a defining moment, an example of her strength and resilience to always seek the best for her self and future.

During her second stay, she moved onto the Transitional Living Program, an 18 month long supportive program to allow youth to work on their education, employment, health and financial goals after addressing their immediate needs. There, a remarkable transformation occurred: she graduated from high school, studied to get her Certified Nursing Assistant certificate and participated in financial literacy classes. Shortly after, she landed her first nursing assistant job and used her new financial skills to start saving for her first apartment and car. 

In a bittersweet moment, after 18 months, she recently graduated from the Transitional Living Program to her own apartment. Staff were excited to see her growth, confidence and resilience and she continues to work with the aftercare team as needed. She is still in therapy, fully committed to maintaining her mental health and working towards reconnecting with friends to expand her support network.

Because of the generosity of our incredible donor community, many girls like Jessica have left Brittany's Place working towards futures full of healing, hope, dignity and courage. Your kindness keeps Brittany's Place operational, giving them a place to seek the shelter and mental health support needed to take these steps to move from crisis into stability and safety. 

Michael, 45, exited prison in May 2025 with only the clothes on his back. He was withdrawn and overwhelmed with the re-entry process. When he arrived at Clifton Place, he worked closely with his case manager to start seeing a  therapist to consider his next steps. He knew that while he stayed in Clifton Place, he wouldn't have to worry about safe shelter, meals or finding support. 

With the help of staff, he considered all the felon friendly careers he could pursue and decided on becoming a truck driver. It offered him flexibility, job security, a good salary and freedom, now, Michael needed only to study to get the appropriate license before he could get the job. He worked hard in the coming weeks, passing the written test and practicing with his permit. A friend stepped up to lend him some money to pay for the process and soon after, Michael passed the driving test. 

Having secured a job, he started working on finding a felon-friendly place to rent as his 90 days in Clifton Place was rapidly nearing the end. Together with his case manager, he found an apartment that was safe, in a convenient location for work and would make him comfortable. In the meantime, he was provided with lunch to take to work every day and he began to save up for his furniture.

Michael moved into his new apartment in July and has been working as a truck driver for almost 3 months. He stills sees a therapist to process his emotions when he feels anxious about his new journey and checks in with his parole officer to meet the conditions of his release. Last month, he reconnected with his siblings and they've planned a family re-union for later this fall. He went from being overwhelmed and shutting down, to rebuilding a life that brings him immense pride - a direct result of his hard work. 

When asked to reflect on his journey now Michael said “I arrived at 180 Degrees in May with nothing but the clothes on my back. Coming out of prison, I had no income. I was worried how I’d make it. Clifton Place gave me a safe place to stay, meals, and support. With housing and food taken care of, I was able to focus on finding a job."

Early giving starts this Friday, November 1st for Give to the Max 2024! In Minnesota, Give to the Max day (November 21) is the biggest day for giving of the year. Whether you want to end hunger, homelessness or trafficking, this is an incredible opportunity to show up for the causes that are important to you. Your gift - no matter how small or big - can change lives at 180 Degrees programs. 

Across Minnesota, youth access our services to receive emergency shelter, trauma responsive care, nutritious meals, education, resources and more! At Brittany's Place and Hope House, youth are also healing from sex trafficking, exploitation and homelessness. Our St. Cloud Youth shelter is the only 24-hour emergency shelter in a 13-county region of Central Minnesota. No matter what issues are important for you, we have a cause to support.  

In total, over 2,000 vulnerable Minnesotans access services and resources through 180 Degrees each year,  over 75% of which are BIPOC and many are LGTBQIA+. With your help, you can nourish new beginnings and hope for these Minnesotans in their greatest time of need. Will you give today to provide safe emergency shelter, warm meals and trauma informed care?

Your kindness is making a big impact!

P.S.  New Donors:  During Give to the Max, your gift -- of any size -- has the power to bring $50,000 more for youth in our community. When gifts to 180 Degrees reach $50,000 from new donors, the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation will donate an additional $50,000 -- doubling your impact! 

We must raise the full $50,000 amount to access this incredible "All or Nothing Challenge" gift.   

180 Degrees has a long-standing commitment to delivering the latest in Trauma Responsive Care to the people who seek safety in our emergency shelters or choose to live in one of our longer-term supportive housing programs.  As an agency, we prioritize making investments that ensure our front line staff are equipped to recognize and respond to emotional and physical trauma. 

Another element of providing Trauma Reponsive Care is ensuring that our facilities offer environments that promote healing.  In our 5-year strategic plan we have made commitments to improve all of our aging facilities.  Most of our facilities were built at a time when services for homeless youth and men released from prison were quite different. 

When it comes to our facilities, our vision is bold.  Through architecture and design with BKV Group, a trusted partner, we are in the midst of major transformation.  Renovations at Brittany's Place (completed 2022), St. Cloud Youth Shelter (underway 2023), Clifton Place (scheduled for early 2024), and VonWald Youth Shelter (pending funding in 2024) will ensure that our facilities match the level of excellence we deliver in frontline service. 

Through new design, the face of 180 Degrees will include buildings that offer natural light, access to nature because that supports healing, single bedrooms supporting improved mental health while in shelter, open floor plans that survivors of trauma prefer, flexible spaces that can be programmed to meet the needs of our clients, quiet rooms to reduce stimuli, and environments that resemble private homes more than institutions. 

This vision would be be possible without the support of many partners. Thank you to Minnesota Department of Human Services for providing first-ever capital funding for youth shelters.  Thank you to Hennepin County for supporting first-ever renovation of our residence for formerly incarcerated men.  Thank you to our generous and highly innovative banking partner, Stearns Bank.  Thank you to the many businesses, civic organizations, and churches for donating inkind donations to outfit our new spaces.  And, thank you the many generous donors for your ongoing support. 

The very public Anton Lazzaro trial peels back the harsh realities of youth sex trafficking, including instructions to seek out “young, small, broken teen girls” to groom. These are the girls who make their way to Brittany’s Place every week, seeking shelter, safety and support.
https://www.startribune.com/anton-lazzaros.../600261013/

More than two decades after a key law took effect, women are still actively being trafficked across the U.S. Read the article in USA Today. 

Thank you to more than 60 volunteers from UnitedHealthcare & HandsOn Twin Cities who helped clean and organize our storage barn last Wednesday, November 30! Despite the big snow the night before, we had an excellent turnout. We appreciate all of the hard work that volunteers provide to strengthen our shelters, especially during these cold winter months.

We couldn't have done it without you!

In July 2017, Fredrick Blocton took the helm as President of the 180 Degree Board of Directors. Blocton, VP of Sales/President of UpNet CSG group at UpNet Technologies, has shepherded the organization through an intense period of growth and change, the challenges of the COVID pandemic, and has been a constant champion for using data to drive the organization forward. Recently Executive Director Dan Pfarr sat down with Blocton to take a look back at where 180 Degrees was when he joined and where the organization is now headed.
​
Dan:  How you would describe 180 Degrees when you joined us five years ago?
Fredrick: Five years ago, 180 Degrees had a great foundation to grow upon, but we were doing so much that our efforts were watered down. We embarked on a year of intensive strategic planning where the board worked hard to define our core mission. This led to the focus on trauma responsive care and more consistent program goals and outcomes. Within three years, we had diversified our revenue sources--putting us in a much stronger fiscal position and allowing us to deliver our services to our clients more efficiently.​
Dan: As we emerge from the COVID pandemic, where is 180 Degrees today??
Fredrick: The shelter staff at 180 Degrees worked incredibly hard to keep our clients safe from the COVID virus. Although we had several outbreaks, I’m proud to say that we kept our shelters open 24/7/365 throughout the entire pandemic. Staff definitely kept our programs functioning under extraordinary circumstances. And recently, additional COVID funding has been secured to renovate two of our shelters in an effort to prevent and mitigate the transmission of future communicable diseases.
Dan: How has 180 Degrees improved its ability to embrace data and technology?
Fredrick: 180 Degrees has taken a deliberate and intensive multi-year transformation around data. This meant developing consistent outcomes for all shelters, as well as setting up specific indicators to measure the progress of each different program. Once our programs were aligned to track and document the same activities, then we trained staff to accurately collect data, and now we can start to analyze the results and see what we can learn from the data. It’s not an overnight process, rather a strategy that requires a great deal of commitment.
Dan: Where is 180 Degrees today?
Fredrick: Today 180 Degrees is like a rocket on the platform. We’re ready to make a huge impact in the community around trauma responsive care and we’ve totally invested in capturing data about our programs. This will have a big return investment and put us in a good position for the next five years. 
Dan: Fredrick, you’ve made an amazing impact on 180 Degrees. You’ve integrated our mission into your life, because your volunteer work, your personal work, and your personal life are all part of the same fabric. You live the mission and carry 180 Degrees with you 24/7.
​
Fredrick leaves the Board in the capable hands of Amy Diesen, Former, Vice President of Retirement Plans at Ameriprise, who became President of the 180 Degrees Board of Directors in January 2022.

​​Local KTSP celebrity Larry Pfarr rolled up his sleeves to help with spring gardening at 180 Degrees’ main campus in St. Paul. Pfarr, who leads the popular television segment, “Get Growing with  Larry Pfarr” designed and landscaped 180 Degrees’ campus and therapeutic gardens on Johnson Parkway in St. Paul. 
This partnership between 180 Degrees and KSTP’s Home and Garden Expert is about much more than just vegetables and flowers; it’s actually a family connection that brought the two parties together. Dan Pfarr (CEO/President at 180 Degrees) is a first-cousin to Larry Pfarr, and they grew up on an adjoining farm sites outside of Le Sueur, Minnesota. 
“Gardening is deep in the Pfarr family DNA,” says Dan Pfarr, “Larry and I both understand the healing aspects of planting and tending gardens. Providing easy access to nature is also part of the healing process at 180 Degrees.
As part of the recent transformation of Brittany’s Place shelter, 180 Degrees is also updating and landscaping their St. Paul campus and the adjoining therapeutic garden. With a generous donation from St. Paul-based Bailey’s Nursery, 180 Degrees’ campus will now feature two rain gardens, raised planting beds, fruit trees, and vegetable gardens. The gardens will also provide fresh produce for young women  at Brittany’s Place which is 180 Degrees’ shelter for survivors of sex trafficking. 
With garden gloves and bright green t-shirts, a team of hard-working volunteers from Securian Financial were on site to assist Larry with the work. By the end of the day, the skilled team had planted dozens of trees and plants. A great way to spend a warm summer day—and share their time. 

180 Degrees employees work in different part of the state from Chanhassen to St. Cloud, back to the Twin Cities, and south to St. Cloud.  Gathering as team, even virtually, is one way to strengthen and build culture. 

All new employees meet with the CEO and get introduced to their colleagues.  In a recent meeting, the 180 Degrees "veterans" shared why they continue to work to "Turn Lives Around." Their words describe a work culture that is mission-driven, embraces diverse life experiences and cultures, and taps deeply into personal values. 
Here's what they say....

Amie Kirby, St. Cloud Youth Shelter, grew up in a foster home that was run by her parents. Some mornings she would wake up to find there were new kids at the breakfast table that she had never seen before! She is motivated to serve at 180 Degrees as a tribute to a foster brother who is serving a 20 year prison sentence.

CJ Hallman, Work Readiness, Worked in education for 13+ years after college and working at 180 is “a breath of fresh air.”

Mary McRoy, Safe Harbor, “Every day, I see 180 put it’s values into action in a very real manner .”

Chaz Hooten, ACE, “My passion is working with youth. I love seeing youth develop at all levels and helping clients to achieve their potential. I like to help clients identify barriers to what is holding them back. I’ve never worked with such a diverse group of staff members and it speaks volumes to what we do as an organization.

Michelle Hall, Brittany's Place, “…what we do is important because it changes the world.”

Olivia Menke, Advancement, “I like working at 180 Degrees because we are committed to changing the status quo, finding out what works. Everyone at 180 cares about the mission”

Sara Marquardt, Mobile Case Manager at VonWald, “I started as an intern, then came back as an employee. I feel more at home at 180 Degrees than at other orgs. I am encouraged to share my gifts and abilities at VonWald.”

Alison Westphal, Youth Advocate at VonWald, started as an intern. She likes the relationships she can develop with youth and knowing that she’s making a difference every day, even if that means the simple things like making a meal that the youth enjoy.

Madeleine Munro, Sr. Case Manager with ACE, “I was looking for a way to give back to the community. I enjoy working with families to make youth successful.”

Candi Gibson, Case Manager at Clifton Place, “I enjoy working at 180 because I like helping men transition back into the community after prison.”

I have struggled with the words this year for Black History Month. Not because there is any lack of accomplishment in black history but because history is washed clean by power. It seems like every step forward is met with resistance and this duality that we experience in our society. History is not only a marker of time and past but affects the future. When we hear words like racial justice and equity, we all have a picture in our minds of having the same opportunity as our neighbor regardless of the color of our skin.  We tumble around the edges and fight over things like Systemic Racism, Historical Reparations, Critical Race Theory, Voting Rights, Gun Violence. All these concepts are only words unless we understand the relationship between Power, Racism, Dominate Culture, White Privilege, and the ability to distinguish the truth from misinformation that motivates so many on social media.

Five young Black men (teenagers) murdered just in the last two weeks alone from our community. Amir Locke was killed by police as they entered his apartment with a no-knock warrant. On the same day, Jahmari Rice was killed by a classmate in front of his school. Deshaun Hill Jr. was shot on a street corner in North Minneapolis just a few blocks from where I live. Two other young Black men were killed as well. (Malik Travon Carr-Riggins and Case Samuel Ritzman)  All have family and did not expect their lives to end this way. What if five young white males were killed in Minnetonka, Rochester, or St. Cloud last week? Would we have a different response?

So, we are faced with another year, another month of black history and we have choices to make about how and where we spend our time and what we advocate for. At 180 Degrees we are making a difference. Our staff at Clifton Place know the plight of black men as they come out of prison and reenter society. Brittany’s Place serves women as they heal from sexual trafficking. Our youth shelters reach out to both urban and rural youth who need safe places in the coldest months of the year. Our strategic plan focuses on equity and Trauma Informed Care. We are committed to serving the community and changing the narrative. This year and moving forward we will double down on our commitment to making racial equality central to our mission.

Is this enough to change every stubborn piece of racial injustice in the land?  Not at all.
But we can start with ourselves. Join me, in making a commitment to stand up, be heard, share your fears and success stories. We are better as one voice, as one community fighting for justice

In Solidarity,
CEO/President, 180 Degrees

Opinion
Community VoicesCommunity Voices features opinion pieces from a wide variety of authors and perspectives. 
Exploitation and trafficking happen far too often in Minnesota. The majority of cases happen below the surface of daily life for most of us.

By Dan Pfarr
Sex trafficking is not just something that happens somewhere else or only on a random basis. It is something that happens across our state in almost every community.

We are again learning of details of a person being accused of recruiting and using young teen girls for sex trafficking and exploitation. The recent case involves a person with key political connections and that also potentially involves a college student alleged to have helped him.
While this case has generated more public and media attention, exploitation and trafficking happen far too often in Minnesota. The majority of cases happen below the surface of daily life for most of us.

We sadly see this happen on a regular basis. Our organization, 180 Degrees, runs the largest shelter for sexually exploited girls in the state of Minnesota. Since 2015, we have served more than 600 young teen girls each year who are victims of these horrific crimes and acts. The numbers go up each year.

At Brittany’s Place in St. Paul, we help girls as young as 12 years who have been purchased for sex. These girls who are traumatized by rape, coerced by violence, swindled by the promise of money, abused physically and emotionally, come to us day and night seeking refuge from their traffickers.

Girls as young as 14 are forced to perform sex acts on middle-class white men, in order to stay in a van as their only place of shelter. We see 16-year-old girls whose boyfriend promises them the latest hairstyle, a cellphone, in exchange for having sex with his clients.

Vulnerable because of their age, and often experiencing poverty, family instability, and homelessness, these children are swindled by the promise of safety, love, and emotional connection. Their abuse starts with deliberate emotional manipulation and soon becomes coercion by violence. Introduced to drugs as a means of fostering control, they become drug dependent using drugs to cope with the horrors of sex trafficking.

When specific instances create media attention, people often are shocked, disgusted and think this doesn’t happen in their world. The truth is that 1.4% or at least 5,000 of Minnesota teens reported on their 2019 Student Survey that they have traded sex for something of value. These are real lives, and each individual person becomes a victim.

Last year, 180 Degrees served girls in shelter and outreach programs from all over Minnesota to help them escape tragic abuse. They needed medical services, access to counseling, physical safety, healthy nutrition, reengagement in school and work to provide hope to every girl who crosses our threshold.

Many times, the damage is deep. Severe anxiety, depression, eating disorders and fear have overtaken these girls as their abusers have manipulated them to get access to their bodies. Helping the victims recover is hard and unrelenting because in many cases the victims are children. They often live in a veil of silence in society, are fearful, lonely, and scared for their physical safety.

In a state where for too long we have only focused on the things that make this a special place to live, we cannot afford to not “see” or recognize that for others life is traumatic. Sex trafficking is not just something that happens somewhere else or only on a random basis. It is something that happens across our state in almost every community.

Our challenge is to not just be upset but to recognize and accept the place we love so much has a tragic and horrific challenge to address. It requires us to not step back because of the horrific details of each case but to instead come together to make a real impact.

This is work our staff and volunteers are committed to doing every day. The recent headlines again show us, unfortunately, how much more work there is to do.

​Dan Pfarr is the CEO of 180 Degrees. He formerly held significant positions at The Bridge for Youth, Bolder Options, and Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He has an MSW in clinical social work from the University of St. Thomas/College of St. Catherine and a BA in Social Work from the University of St. Thomas. In addition, Dan is chair of the state-wide Mental Health Protocol Team (Safe Harbors), board president for of the Youth Collaboratory (formerly MANY), a national youth advocacy organization, and a member of the National Advisory Council for the Forty to None Project of Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Fund. 

We have all been witness to a couple of things in the past 24 hours that I would like to address. This summer there we thousands of protesters arrested over the killing of George Floyd and police brutality in this country towards people of color. Yesterday, only 13 people were arrested when a protest turned violent and illegally broke into the United States Capital.

You could go many directions with the comparisons and different treatment of these incidences. However, I continue to measure the actions in this country against equity, racism, and our response politically, socially and morally. I do not agree with the looting and burning of our cities. I do not agree with protesters storming our capital buildings known as the “People’s House”. What I do agree with is the right to gather and protest whenever an individual has cause and right to gather.

We are a nation of laws—The freedom should be that these laws apply equally no matter your race, gender, ethnicity, religion, or political beliefs. This we have not achieved yet. That has been made obvious again in the last 24 hours.
 
I made a commitment to myself to be as authentic as I can this year. This means being bold, truthful, aware, and speaking truth to power whenever I can. Please join me in making a commitment to yourself and to your co-workers, family and community that WE as 180 Degrees will continue to protect, encourage and change systems that inherently have been unequal in this country.

If we are not a Nation of laws that encourage fairness and equity we are not thinking big enough about our responsibility as citizens. We need to hold our leaders accountable to equity and fairness—SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER!

In Solidarity,
Dan

At 180 Degrees, part of our strategic plan to address equity is to monitor where we spend our money and how we purchase our goods and services. We recently installed a new air conditioning unit at Clifton Place and used a Black-owned business. We are looking at replacing our carpeting at our 1301 building in St. Paul and have contacted a Black-owned installer for a quote. While these things may seem small, they are important steps to 180 Degrees and the economy of supporting the community.

According to USA Today, Black Americans hold just 2.6% of the nations wealth while constituting 13% of the population (Brookings Institute). White average wealth, which is heavily influenced by the ultra rich, is $800,000 higher than the average Black wealth. Kevin Cohee, CEO of OneUnited Bank and one of only 21 Black-owned banks in the US, implores us to use our power — spending, voting, and vocal — to demand criminal justice reform and to address income inequality through economics.

We all have choices to make about where to spend our money and who to support with our purchasing power — who will you choose?

In Solidarity,
Dan

Good Morning,

Today we commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States.  While a joyful celebration, the end of slavery has not stopped systemic racism or the oppression of African Americans. From voting rights, civil rights, to George Floyd, we stand in unity at 180 Degrees with all of our brothers and sisters. From justice reform to ending sexual exploitation, we are committed to the cause of freedom.
​
In honor of this day going forward and as a reminder each year at 180 Degrees, this day shall be added as an official holiday for 2021 and beyond.

In Solidarity,

​Dan Pfarr
Chief Executive Officer
 

Read more about Juneteenth here...
©JUNETEENTH.com
Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.  Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.

It has been a little over a week since the death of George Floyd. Since that time 180 Degrees has been responding with compassion, hope and advocacy for change. We live in urban, suburban and rural communities. We serve homeless, at-risk youth, men exiting prison, and women seeking safety. We are community and we represent community in our diversity, locations, religious and political beliefs. We dare to do our work everyday during this heightened time of unrest.
 
Making a statement about this incident is not enough. At 180 Degrees our clients are  predominately people of color and from diverse communities that have and continue to suffer from systems of oppression. From prison cells to the unemployment line. From lack of  transportation to community violence. From underfunded schools to lack of response to trauma. Our clients and many of our staff face this oppression every day.
 
As a dear friend of mine, an elder in the black community said, “Dan, this is not new to us—I have been going through this shit for 82 years and counting.” This is true, none of this unfortunately is new to 180 Degrees either. In 1971 Robbie Robinson started with a single house and a desire to help men coming out of prison.  We wake up everyday and we continue to serve the community as Robbie did 45 years ago. At 180 Degrees we are exhausted from the past few months and the last week has taken its toll not only on our clients but our staff. You see, we are a family—George Floyd was our brother and we are grieving.

June 1
This has been a difficult seven days. We all have thoughts feelings, reactions. Some of us are protesting, volunteering, gathering food, writing letters, and doing anything in our power to help. We are a community at 180 Degrees. We live in different neighborhoods, communities, rural and urban. We have different reactions, political and religious beliefs. Be who you are and do that well. Please let me know if you need anything or what kind of support you need. Remember, 180 Degrees got its start by as a grassroots organization, founded by community members working for racial justice.  Let's keep that spirit alive.  We are community!


​​May 29
I woke this morning with a sinking feeling about the City that I live and work in. Seeing live footage on CNN and the front page of the news is difficult at best. We all have various perspectives and reactions to crisis and change. We all are bombarded with our own emotions and feelings about what has happened over the last 5 days.
 
I have feelings of helplessness as I figure out how to support our staff, sites and clients we serve in our programs. Racial injustice and a system that promotes this is being challenged. Protesting often comes with unrest. I would not attempt to justify looting and violence but these are complicated topics that have deep emotions that ride a historical path of injustice for people of color.
 
Sitting in my discomfort is what I must do knowing that this is bigger than one person and one solution. One thing we must do is continue to understand and act upon these issues that have divided this Country. At 180 Degrees, we must find a way to confront the hatred of racism and bias in our communities. I guess today like most days, starts with my own reflections. Now I must challenge myself to back those up with actions.

Our teams at 180 Degrees are working extra-hard during Covid-19.

In our six residential shelters, staff are working 12-hour shifts as a way to limit the number of people entering and exiting our emergency shelters.  In addition to welcoming new clients, preparing meals, leading support groups, and handling adminstrative tasks, they're now taking and recording temperatures of all who enter, disinfecting entire facilities, and providing new services. With many community-based programs closed due to shelter-in-place requirements, our dedicated teams are helping youth with on-line learning, leading chemical and mental health support groups for youth and adults, and providing transportation to interviews and jobs. 

We salute all of 180 Degrees front-line workers those who work with struggling families, women who experience domestic abuse, and youth who experience neglect, homelessness and sexual exploitation and trafficking.  Thank you to our teams who work tirelessly helping men exiting prison find jobs and permanent housing and those who recruit and coach new foster families making a difference for youth.     

If you won almost $1,000, what would you do with your windfall?

Ask detectives, deputies, and law enforcement members from Olmsted County, and you'd likely hear this response, "I'd donate it to charity."

That's exactly what happened this week at Willow Creek Golf Course in Rochester.  Every year for the past thirty years, members of law enforcement community, along with family, friends, and business leaders gather each fall to raise critical funds for the Von Wald Group Home, a 12-bed facility providing shelter, counseling, and support to two hundred southeast Minnesota teens each year.  

Like other golf tournaments, the event includes a raffle, silent auction,  and cash prizes for longest drive, best putt, and best team score.  What's unusual is the support from Sheriff Kevin Torgerson's team and how many donate their winnings back to the Von Wald Group Home, making the event a highly successful fundraiser.  ​

The generosity doesn't end there. Julie Leisen, of DeWitz Home Builders, has served on the golf committee for over thirty years. Her father, Bob, along with Chuck Von Wald and other community leaders, founded the Group Home in 1989.  Julie's daughter Meghan recently began volunteering at the event with her Mom, representing three generations of volunteers.

"I've worked with Sheriffs Chuck Von Wald, Steve Borchardt, Steve Von Wald, Dave Mueller, and now Kevin Torgerson. I have been so honored to work with them on this endeavor," said DeWitz.  She added, “there are few places for youth to go when home is not an option and the Von Wald Group Home is a needed alternative in the community to a law enforcement facility”.  

The Von Wald family also includes three generations of volunteers.  At 90, Chuck Von Wald is the only living founding member of the Group Home.  He regretted he couldn't golf this year as the October temperature was a bit chilly. Son Steve and grand-daughters Andrea, Erica, Kendra, Malinda serve on the committee, continuing an impressive family legacy of service and volunteerism.   

Long-time presenting sponsor Midwest Specialized Transportation, along with other local businesses, have supported the charity golf event for decades, introducing their employees, vendors, and colleagues to the Von Wald Group Home mission. "Midwest Specialized has always been proud to support the Von Wald Group Home in Rochester", said Vice President and General Manager Sean Claton.  "Our sponsorship over the years is a small attempt at reinforcing the mission of providing a safe and nurturing environment for the youth of Rochester."

"We are so grateful to the Rochester community, the volunteers, sponsors, and golfers for their amazing support," said Dan Pfarr, CEO of 180 Degrees.  Founded in 1971, 180 Degrees operates the Von Wald Group Home along with eight other social service programs across the state.

Brittany Clardy's vibrant, bright spirit lives on at Brittany's Place.  Victimized and manipulated by a sex trafficker, Brittany's life was cut too short when she was murdered by her trafficker. Each year her family, members of the St. Paul community and our shelter clients, volunteers, and staff gather to celebrate her birthday.  

This June we had a barbeque feast, a beautiful birthday cake, and purple balloons.  Purple is Brittany's color!  We celebrate Brittany and all the girls in our shelter.  They touch our lives in many extraordinary ways.

There is no substitute for the loss of a daughter, sister, best friend, or rock star co-worker.  However, there are bright spots.  Out of Brittany's death, a shelter was born that today has provided safe shelter, food, medical care, and emotional support to close to five hundred girls from across Minnesota. 

Sex trafficking and exploitation of minors exists in our community.  We thank all of you who stand with us to give girls a fighting chance to rebuild their lives while at Brittany's Place.