Part 1Help us SpringForward Jordan was the oldest of three. With her mom and step-dad working evenings, she was often charged with taking care of her two pre-school aged sisters after school. This difficult and large responsibility tended to come with few rewards and a lot of criticism.
On Saturdays, Jordan would take the bus and escape to the mall, roaming around the beautiful stores. One day, an outgoing guy with a great smile followed her. He introduced himself as Mac and told her how beautiful she was. He insisted she have lunch with him in the food court. Flattered by his attention, and admittedly hungry, she agreed to join him. Part 2Meetings at the mall with Mac became a weekly event. He made Jordan feel special, introducing her to his friends as his girlfriend. He always got her a gift - a heart necklace, new sneakers, or makeup.
Mac did so much for Jordan - buying her gifts, letting her stay over, getting her food. So when he asked her to help, just this once, to cover the rent, she agreed. Jordan didn’t want to do it, but she tried telling herself a few revealing photos this one time wouldn’t be a big deal. "Just this once” turned into more frequent requests, and later, into demands. By age 17, Jordan was being trafficked weekly in St. Paul’s East metro region. At 2 a.m. a police raid resulted in her being transported to Children’s Hospital. Physically and emotionally depleted, she confessed to a hospital social worker what had been going on, but refused to provide her parents’ contact information. With nowhere else to go, Jordan was brought to 180 Degrees’ Brittany’s Place. Part 3Jordan arrived at Brittany’s Place emotionally shut down. Understandably, after almost two years of being trafficked for sex, she didn’t trust adults, she didn’t trust anyone. For the first week, Jordan mostly slept. Her body was tired. She mostly kept to herself, but showed up for all the family-style meals. She was hungry. The transition to 180 Degrees' Brittany’s Place wasn’t easy. She missed Mac – he was her first boyfriend, and he had become her family. He would be furious that she broke their secret. However, as her body and mind had time to start healing and experiencing safety, she started to process things differently.
Brittany’s Place’ Parent Liaison provided an important extra support system. Jordan expressed her feelings of isolation in the family and her mom expressed her frustration and fear about not parenting effectively. They started getting to the root of the unhealthy behavior in the family. Jordan’s trafficking experience will leave life-long scars. However, she has found hope discovering personal strengths and capabilities. Jordan returned home and she and her mom continue to access support each week from Brittany’s Place Case Manager. Jordan’s proud of her personal goals and creating new, healthy relationships.
Thank you for following along with Jordan's story of resilience and healing. Your gift right now will support youth like Jordan who are experiencing crisis and need a safe space to stay. Will you help us reach our goal of $10,000? A gift today will plant the seeds for a brighter tomorrow for teens like Jordan.
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 Almost a year ago 180 Degrees started the journey of our organizational rebrand. Our goal was to develop our messaging and visual identity in order to build our recognition in the community and connect to clients and community partners in a more collaborative and effective way. 180 Degrees partnered with the talented creative agency StoneArch to take on this important project. Together, we dug into the what, why, and how of our work. We reworked our messaging from the ground up and through staff, partner organizations, supporters, and community feedback. NEW BRAND VISUALSWe've been working hard to have our visual look and feel represent the work we do. As of today, along with our new logo, you'll start seeing new visuals appear in email communications, social media pages, and online campaigns (like our GiveMN Spring Forward Fundraiser, live now)!  NEW WEBSITE COMING SOONYou may be wondering when our new branding will launch on our website. The answer is - very soon! Stay tuned for the new website launch in May. NEW LOOK, SAME DEDICATIONAlthough 180 Degrees has a new look, our dedication to those in crisis is the same. You can count on our services, priorities, and values continuing to:
Throughout the journey of this organizational rebrand, the biggest priority and benefit has been clear: to empower and provide safety for people who are in crisis. Having a stronger, clearer identity will make us a stronger service provider. “Understanding the what, how, and why of the organization unites staff and the community, and strengthens fundraising for short and long-term stability. By having a clear message and an easy to navigate website, we make it easier for clients and community partners to access support and get connected to resources” Marketing Manager Alex Moeller said. Thank you for your support in this next adventure and being a partner in creating safe spaces for people in crisis. After several months of hard work and collaboration, we're excited to announce the launch of our new brand identity, complete with a whole new website!THE WHY: Over a year ago, 180 Degrees began reflecting on how we communicate who we are as an organization and how that affects how our clients are supported. During this strategy session, it became clear we needed to build our identity and recognition in the community, making connecting to clients and community partners more collaborative and effective. It became a natural fit to build our visual brand right alongside our messaging. THE HOW: 180 Degrees partnered with the talented creative agency StoneArch to take on this important project. Together, we dug into those questions – what do we do, why do we do it, and how? We reworked our messaging from the ground up and got feedback from staff, partner organizations, clients, supporters, and the community, which was then translated into a visual identity.  THE WHAT: So what’s changed?
What will stay the same?
Throughout the journey of this organizational rebrand, the biggest priority and benefit has been clear: to empower and provide safety for people who are in crisis. Having a stronger, clearer identity will make us a stronger service provider. “180 Degrees does incredible work!” says CEO Dan Pfarr. “We want to make sure more people can support our mission, and the rebrand will help us do that -- growing our programs to serve more people in crisis” Over the past year, 180 Degrees focused on listening to what the community needs most. In response, we're adding more transitional housing to support those coming out of emergency housing. We’re working to make emergency housing more easily accessible for rural youth who experience high levels of isolation. We’re prioritizing fully embodying a trauma-informed organization with extensive trainings, organization-wide protocols, and staff support to ensure our actions speak louder than words. “Understanding the what, how, and why of the organization unites staff and the community, and strengthens fundraising for short and long-term stability. By having a clear message and an easy to navigate website, clients and community partners will have an easier time accessing support and getting connected to resources” Marketing Manager Alex Moeller said. Thank you to the community for your support in this next adventure, and being a partner in creating safe spaces for people in crisis. Only 180 Degrees builds on 50+ years of equity and advocacy to help children and adults break the destructive cycle of trauma created by poverty, racism, homelessness and exploitation. When you support 180 Degrees, you can feel confident you are making a tangible difference to people experiencing their most difficult moments—and that you are helping to build a stronger, brighter, and more resilient community.
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