On a warm, sunny day in July, 10 young kids run up the hill at the Beloit Residential Treatment Center in Ames, eager to reach a large garden plot nearby. The plot is the Beloit Learning Garden, a space where each of the kids learn skills like planting and harvesting healthy foods throughout the growing...
Michelle felt like she had finally overcome her biggest challenge. She had found the support she needed to get back on her feet after years of suffering from domestic abuse and drug use. That’s when she learned she had severe osteoarthritis. The degenerative joint disease was causing intense pain in her back, and she could...
Chandra doesn’t remember much of her life in Bhutan. When she was young, the country was thrown into turmoil from what was described as a systematic “ethnic cleansing,” and Chandra’s family fled to Nepal. “We spent almost 20 years in a refugee camp in Nepal,” Chandra says. “There was no electricity, there was a struggle...
At home, Mark was a happy little boy. But he struggled to cope with social anxiety the moment he stepped outside. Sarah, a first-time mom, was unsure how to handle her son’s shyness. Then Mark began acting out at home too. “When he wasn’t behaving well, I didn’t know how to make him behave without...
Zach has always had a love of the outdoors. In his free time, he can usually be found in his back yard, mowing the lawn or making sure his snow blower is working properly before the first snow. But when Zach began working with his hourly support staff, Shane, he found a new love: music....
I’ve seen a lot of growth from day one, and that’s huge. LSI is making a difference.
Beth describes her life last year as “overwhelming” and “frightening.” Her grandchildren, Aidan, 12, and Annabella, 8, required multiple mental health services. When Beth was juggling communication with five healthcare organizations at once, the stress became too much to handle. “I was having to tell one person this, and I was afraid I would forget...
Growing up is difficult for any child. But imagine being labeled the “bad kid” in school and feeling isolated, excluded, like no one believes in you. For a while, that’s how 11-year-old Scott felt. Abuse and trauma in Scott’s past made it difficult for him to control his anger. He acted out in public and...
When Fan’s first child, Rain, was born, she was determined to raise him to be gentle, patient, and independent. But as he entered his crawling, walking, and climbing phases, things began to change. Originally from China, Fan was not well connected in her Ames community. When Rain, now 2, became a very mobile and curious...
