St. Cloud Youth Shelter expanding capacity to serve more Central Minnesota kids
St. Cloud Youth Shelter, a youth emergency shelter program of 180 Degrees Inc., is expanding.
In preparation for a kick-off event titled "Building Brighter Futures," the organization is "joining forces to partner with the local St. Cloud community for support of time and treasure" as they expand to "offer the best of shelter and services to some of our most fragile youth."
Cory Johnson, advancement officer for 180 Degrees, said in a press release that the organization "will expand beyond 12 beds to 18 beds, a shared kitchen and living area with expansive green space and great proximity to bus transportation and downtown St Cloud."
Amie Kirby, senior program and shelter manager, shared with the Times that they do more than just provide a bed. They provide food, assistance in providing identification for job applications and other ways "to service the community." Dan Pfarr, CEO of 180 Degrees, said he wants to "make the facility a place where youth can heal, where they can be safe, where we can address mental health."
Pfarr said the goal of the renovation is to make the shelter "more amenable to youth and not feel like we're punishing them." He said the shelter used to be a a group home for youth coming out of juvenile justice. Since the property was purchased by 180 Degrees in 2011, the building has structurally remained the same.
The project started with a $1.5 million grant from the Department of Human AServices , however, Pfarr said "when we got to planning the project we realized it was going to be a lot bigger than $1.5 million." Inflation has impacted the cost of the project due to recent supply chain issues. "We also wanted to make sure this was a once in 30 or 40 years opportunity."
Janet Hallaway, chief advancement officer at 180 Degrees, added that the application for the grant was very competitive.
The organization also acquired a $2.2 million loan and $200,000 in grants from other entities. It now needs to raise nearly $412,000 in order to complete the renovation and more to pay off the loan over the next 20 years.
One of the ways that 180 Degrees is planning to raise funds is by creating an advisory committee to would build awareness and raise money, Hallaway said. For now, they are relying on direct donations which can be given online at 180degrees.org/donate.
"We really want to tap into the community, but we haven't had the capacity to do that... the shelter has operated pretty much under the radar because [80% of] our resources have been directed to staffing," Kirby said. Both Kirby and Pfarr said "Building Brighter Futures" and the renovations will help re-establish the presence and importance of the shelter to the community.
180 Degrees is a service agency, founded in Minneapolis in 1973, with a state-wide focus on operating 24-hour residential facilities for vulnerable populations. They have other locations in Rochester, Chanhassen and the Twin Cities metro area.
The “Building Brighter Futures" kick-off event will be held at the St Cloud Youth Shelter, 1101 Washington Memorial Dr, St Cloud, on Oct. 13 at 11:30 a.m.. That day will also be the beginning of the the interior work of the building.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: St. Cloud Youth Shelter expanding capacity to serve Central Minnesota
