What county do you live in?

​​Whatever the county, Brittany’s Place, the shelter for girls and young women who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing, sex trafficking, has likely served a girl from your community.
While Brittany’s place can serve all of Minnesota’s 87 counties, in 2016 – 2017 we served girls and young women from the following ones:

​by Julie Pinomaki

Most teens would have preferred to stay in bed on a dark, rainy weekend morning. But for the girls at Brittany’s Place the kitchen was full of laughter and the sound of sizzling rice. It was time for the Lunch Bunch, the weekly cooking class at the St. Paul shelter for sexually-exploited girls ages 10-17. The girls learn to read recipes, chop vegetables, brown hamburger, and fry rice—and then get an opportunity to taste new foods.

Along the way, the girls also learn about nutrition and good health. “I don’t want mushrooms!” says one girl, “Ick, no broccoli!” The other girls tell her she needs to eat more vegetables. “You’re too picky!” says another.

Even though they are typical—sometimes moody—teens, the girls are obviously eager for the attention of the staff, and they thrive in the positive atmosphere of the shelter. When this week’s lunch, fried rice and egg rolls, is ready, the staff and girls sit together to talk, to enjoy their food, and to start planning the menu for next week.
What better way to start making positive choices in your life…than with a plate full of good food and company to help support for your next step!

It was a familiar Thanksgiving dinner. Several tables were pushed together to make one long table with room for everyone. The tables were covered with a white tablecloth; sure, it was just one long strip of white paper, but the image was right. There was a heaping platter of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans with almonds, sweet potatoes, and dinner rolls; and at the far end of the table down near the desserts, was a tall pile of white plastic lids…but, I’ll get to that later.

Those sitting at this Thanksgiving table were not family, and they did not resemble each other at all. The girl across from me had lived in the group home for 7 months and told us how much she loved living there. She proudly shared that she was in Phase 3 and had just completed her first day back in a public school. She also had a new part-time job at Wendy’s and joked with the staff that she was going to come back and work at the shelter as soon as she was old enough.
 
The girl sitting to my right in a hijab, gave me her name but said nothing more. A newcomer to the group home, she stared straight ahead and made eye contact with no one.

These kids came to live in 180 Degree’s St. Cloud Group Home for reasons that no young person should have to face—personal safety concerns, mental health issues in the family, physical or sexual abuse, lack of acceptance for gender-nonconformity, and anger-management issues. Some kids can work things out with their parents and quickly return home; others stay for months.

The St. Cloud Group Home houses up to 12 boys and girls, aged 11-17 years. The staff use a clear system of rewards and privileges to ensure a safe, positive environment. The building is a homey, functional, and humble home. Chairs are sturdy and nearly indestructible. Inspirational signs and posters decorate the walls. Staff are cheerful, firm, and unflappable; they see the best in teens that are often belligerent, sullen…hurting and in need of love.

And those plastic lids? A Thanksgiving meal for 12 youth, for all of the shelter staff, and for a few extra guests meant that staff had to be creative. Their kitchen had no extra plates for their pumpkin pie, bars and cookies…so they looked in their tub of food containers, collected all of the round white lids, and began to serve dessert.

This is what it’s like to be on the front line and provide a safe, nurturing place for teens who often are viewed as too-broken and even disposable.

When you sit down at your own table this Thanksgiving, with family and friends,
 
…remember the youth in 180 Degrees’ group homes and shelter
…remember the staff who spend time each day with kids who often have been abandoned by their own families
…remember to share your own blessings, and
…remember that teetering white pile of white plastic lids.

It’s Wednesday morning and a group of young women at Brittany’s Place sit around a long table filled with art supplies: paints, pencils, magazines, glitter…

Lisa, the Art Therapist, asks the group: How is everyone doing? How do the changing seasons make you feel today? Do you like autumn? What about the falling leaves? The girls pause…then one by one they reach for brushes, scissors, markers and begin their work.

Sitting among the girls each week is one older woman, who follows the instructions and then thoughtfully picks up a marker and begins to draw a stick figure on her page. This is Marquita Clardy, whose daughter was tragically murdered three years ago by a sexual predator and for whom Brittany’s Place is named.
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Each week, Clardy spends hours of her own time going on activities, sharing meals with the girls, and participating in Art Therapy with the young women at the shelter ages 10-17 years. Each of these girls has been sexually-exploited, and they stay at the shelter to find a safe environment and develop therapeutic supports.
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Please, support 180 Degrees work to help girls ages 10 – 17 who have experienced, or are at risk of experiencing, sex trafficking. Make a gift today.

J’s past is uniquely hers, but it is typical of the young people who come to 180 Degrees’  Von Wald Group Home in Rochester, MN. J experienced violence at home and was a quick study. She learned to use violence to resolve conflicts, which led to a big incident. She assaulted her foster mother.
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At the Von Wald Group Home, J has found people to support her through the ups and downs of everyday life. She learned how to work through the hard days and developed coping skills. J wasn’t shy about saying the staff let her know when she is out of line. After being at Von Wald for a few months, she helped the younger and newer kids understand that they were in a good place and that the staff were there to support them.

On one of the field trips, J conquered her fear of heights. Indoor rock climbing at an area climbing gym is a favorite activity of residents – along with trips to the Y, nature center, and camping. For J, it was no small accomplishment to reach the top of the climbing wall. Working through fears in a relatively safe setting helped J face other day-to-day challenges that life will bring her way.

The programming at Von Wald offers J and her fellow residents what kids have always needed: a safe environment, continuity, the opportunity to develop confidence and respect for themselves and others, and to learn from their mistakes. From the initial intake assessment to completing their residency, the kids are given an appropriate degree of autonomy to work on certain aspects of their lives. Rick Sundberg, Von Wald Senior Program Manager, has noticed during his 30 years of working with youth that this approach supports engagement and builds decision making skills. Youth learn to evaluate the benefits and consequences of their choices. They learn to persevere, just like J facing her fear of heights and climbing that wall.

Please make a gift today to support the wrap around services – mental health, legal help, shelter, classroom education, basic needs, and job coaching to name a few – that is necessary for the youth 180 Degrees serves to achieve their personal, academic, and career goals.