Travis, a smaller than average middle-schooler, with flaming red hair and plenty of freckles, was staying with us while his father was receiving treatment for paranoid schizophrenia.

As we watch spring emerge this year, the contrast between the changes that happen to us and around us, and ones that we make happen are in clear relief. Throughout our organization we are taking stock of what we are emerging with this spring – figuring out what to keep and what to weed out. So many changes this past year have felt like they happened to us. Now the question is what are changes we want to make? At Nexus Family Healing, we are examining the culture we have and determining the culture we want. 

Nexus-PATH has announced that it has acquired Luther Hall, a psychiatric residential treatment facility for boys and girls ages 10-17 located in Fargo, ND. 

I recently had a miscarriage and I am having a really hard time getting over it. People act like it’s not a big deal and don’t understand why I would be grieving. They ask me how many months I was pregnant and when they find out it was 12-weeks, they make it seem like I wasn’t that far along, and I should be fine. I’m starting to pull away from people because nobody understands. My husband is trying to be comforting, which is nice, but his family thinks I am just trying to seek attention. How do I help people understand the effect this is having on me?

The journey to foster parenting is so special and worth it. I see struggling families daily through my work at a nonprofit agency. I see the generational cycle of poverty and trauma. I see how this affects children and often ask why we can’t do something about this.

My dad unexpectedly died. He left behind myself and my brother as well as his wife and an ex-wife, who is my stepmother. Everybody, including myself, is having such a hard time and nobody is taking charge of arrangements of his death. My brother is leaning on me for support, and my stepmother has strong opinions about just leaving everything up to my dad’s wife. The problem is that his wife is not used to taking charge and there are some key decisions that really need to get made. She has spent her whole marriage doing everything that my dad told her to do. Right or wrong, it’s what worked for them and now she does not have his support to rely on. I have been trying to stay back to be sensitive to what she is going through, and I don’t want to pressure her to deal with things that she cannot handle. Any advice on how to navigate this situation?

Tommy, a second grader who is always on the move, was struggling to pay attention and complete his work in the classroom. He often wandered the halls and got into fights with other students.

Distance learning has evoked anxiety not only in students, but in their parents and caregivers. Many parents are expressing feelings of failing their student when seeing grades drop, as well as feeling responsible for their child’s increased anxiety around school. Just know that you are not alone. Here are some quick tips to try the next time you are feeling overwhelmed, worried, or stressed.

We have a daughter that is 23 years old that has returned to live with us. We cared for her when she was a young teen as a foster child, but we have always considered her to be our own daughter. She had a long history of abuse and neglect as a child and as a result has had a difficult time. She has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression, but she seems to do better when she lives with us because we provide a consistent environment. We love and care about her very much and we will always be there for her. The concern we have is that she does not take very good care of her hygiene and does not keep herself clean. When she was younger, we were able to manage this, but now that she is an adult, we cannot parent her the same way. Even though we try to encourage her to keep herself clean, she does not seem to understand how bad it is and how it affects those around her. How should we handle this situation?

Jordan's grief and anger were contributing to aggressive outbursts at school. Thanks to a team effort of teachers, his mom and Nexus-PATH therapy team, Jordan is able to process his emotions and behaviors.