Finding Purpose
Andrea Arens is a Special Education Teacher at Nexus-Indian Oaks Family Healings’ Safe Harbor School, teaching Functional Academics, or Independent Living Skills, to her students. Skills that would normally be taught by family, friends, or in a public school. However, since many Nexus-Indian Oaks youth come from different circumstances and have not had a normal childhood, they have not learned these crucial skills for maintaining a job, getting a place to live, and interacting with different people every day.Read More
Emerging from Her Past Shadows
Araya's journey was a labyrinth of tumultuous emotions before she entered the embracing arms of Nexus-Gerard Family Healing. At the pivotal age of 15, she felt adrift in a sea of despair, her life losing its meaning. Having to move from foster home to foster home as well as several hospitalizations due to self-harm and suicide attempts, added to her ordeal.Read More
Investing in Positive Experiences
A recent grant from the Thielen Foundation funded some major improvements at Nexus-Gerard Family Healing, such as refurbishing their baseball field and recreation room, and adding a new playground. This grant also provided Nexus-Gerard the ability to create and support a new Recreational Coordinator position. This position plays an integral role in creating a fun, connected environment for the youth at Nexus–Gerard, planning both on- and off-campus activities.Read More
The Village That Holds Us Up
The first time Nexus-Kindred Family Healing Foster and Adoptive Parent Cherie and her family met their Nexus Family Healing social worker, Michaela, they were immediately disarmed by her cheerful smile and genuine demeanor.Read More
Fostering Joy
When Tamara and Adam Peters began fostering in June of 2020, they were looking at starting a family and options available to them. With no family history of fostering, they contacted Nexus- PATH Family Healing and talked to a Recruitment & Licensing Social Worker.Read More
Mixing Beats to Help Process Emotions
A partnership with Beyond The Natural Foundation teaches Nexus-Woodbourne youth music production, composition, and studio time to help youth on their healing journey.Read More
A Career Dedicated to Helping Others
After 22 years at Nexus-Kindred Family Healing, Nancy Kagel, Social Worker, will be retiring this spring. Social workers are a critical part for the work we do at Nexus Family Healing. To celebrate her retirement, we sat down with Nancy to reflect on her career in social work.Read More
Making Their Voices Heard: The North Dakota Youth Advisory Board
In 2023, North Dakota proclaimed October to be “Foster Youth Voice Month”. Take a look at how lived experts Char, Alexis, Olivia, and Kalista joined the The North Dakota Youth Advisory Association (NDYAA) Leadership Board to raise community awareness around foster care and independent living programs.Read More
Healing Through Music
Music has been proven to be a healthy way for people to release stress and develop healthy coping mechanisms. Take a look at how the Illinois Summer Youth Music (ISYM) program helped two Nexus-Onarga Family Healing youth, Jaylin and DeAndre, learn more about their passions in music while also helping them find a healthy outlet to express their emotions and cope with negative feelings.Read More
Finding Your Family
After raising their biological children, Kim and her husband Jason felt the timing was right to open their home to children within the foster care system, specifically teenagers. Kim wasn’t sure where to begin her foster care journey, so she and Jason decided to Google foster care in Minnesota, and that’s when they came across Nexus-Kindred.Read More