FARGO — Young people the Stepping Stone Recovery Center will serve often live in cars, on a friend’s couch, or trade sexual favors for money for a place to sleep.
They come from dysfunctional families, or they have no family at all, nobody to provide support as they fend for survival on the streets.
Fraser Ltd., which has provided transitional youth services for these homeless and at-risk youth for 11 years, has raised $3.3 million of its $6 million goal to build the Stepping Stone Recovery Center and renovate an adjacent building on the 700 block of South University Drive.
Once complete, the two buildings will supply about 40 rooms, provide for basic necessities, skills training and counseling for homeless and at-risk youth.
The nonprofit has raised enough money to finish most of the exterior of Stepping Stones Recovery Center, but needs another $2.7 million to complete the new building at 721 S. University Drive and to renovate the adjacent building at 717.
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Fraser is hosting a fundraising event — “Shelter in the Storm” — at the building site on Tuesday, Nov. 29, Giving Tuesday, so benefactors can get a glimpse of the building-in-progress and to get a sense of the struggles of the youth who will be helped there.
“It’s a rough, boots on the ground construction site,” said Sandra Leyland, president and CEO of Fraser Ltd., which has provided transitional youth services for 11 years. “We’re trying to portray what it’s like for the youth we serve.”
Those attending the fundraiser will be allowed to walk through the first floor of the building. Posters will hang on walls with summaries depicting the stories of those ages 16 to 26 who have been helped by the program, including:
- Joe, 19, who needed to escape life-threatening crime and violence. He was homeless, sleeping in a car and going weeks without a shower. He was given a room, helped in enrolling in high school to earn a GED and now works as a certified medical assistant.
- Heather, who was introduced to drugs and alcohol by her parents at 11 and became homeless at 15 when abandoned by her parents. She became a victim of human trafficking, but with help she’s received now considers herself a survivor, not a victim.
- Samantha, 21, who met Stepping Stone staff at a hospital, where her infant son was admitted with serious injuries caused by his abusive father. Her son was placed in Child Protective Services, but Samantha works and was able to regain full custody.
“We’re hoping one of these stories or a poster will resonate with someone,” Leyland said. “We wanted people to feel it.”
Many of those helped by the center are largely invisible. Leyland has seen some of the young people working at some of the area’s best restaurants. “If you didn’t know who they were, you wouldn’t know it,” she said.
Demand for youth transitional services, which serves more than 1,100, with housing support for those ages 18 to 26, has spiked during the pandemic.
“We increased our numbers by 70% when COVID hit and it hasn’t dropped yet,” Leyland said.
The Stepping Stone campus will provide “wraparound services,” including shelter, food, clothing, counseling and help accessing health care and other services. Fraser works with a network of partners, including Youthworks, adult homeless shelters, the Rape and Abuse Crisis Center and Presentation Sisters.
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The aim is to reach youth before they become homeless or suicidal.
According to figures from Fraser Ltd., 68% of those helped by the program have mental health issues, 24% have substance use disorder, 21% have developmental disabilities, 9% have chronic health issues and 6% have physical disabilities.
“I can’t tell you we’ve prevented ‘X’ number of suicides, but we know we have interrupted a few,” Leyland said.
During the cold months, Nov. 1 through the end of March, the program operates 24 hours a day, every day of the week, she said.
Leyland is hoping for a good turnout at the fundraiser. “I just hope they’ll turn out,” she said. “It’s going to be a beautiful building. It’s going to last.”
If you go:
What: The “Shelter in the Storm” fundraiser by Fraser Ltd. to raise money for a new Stepping Stone Recovery Center
When: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 29, with brief remarks at 12:30 p.m.
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Where: Building site at 721 S. University Drive, Fargo
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