By Laura Rasmussen, Regional Coordinator with Caregiver Support and Respite Services. This letter was published at www.dl-online.com. 

Weekly visits from one of our volunteer caregivers is a highlight for an older gentleman in the community who needs someone present around the clock.

Credit card debt reached an all-time high in 2019. Last year, Americans amassed a staggering $930 billion on their credit cards, according to the Federal Reserve.

During a time of unprecedented household debt, Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota’s Financial Counseling is working with individuals and families to eliminate their debt and gain control of their finances through debt management plans.

Legal Assistance of Olmsted County is seeing increased demand for its service.

Applications for services rose from 572 applications received in 2018 to 708 last year.

Among the growing need is legal help through the Eviction Prevention Project, which Legal Assistance organizes and operates with the help of Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services and Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota.

The new location for the Duluth Crisis Nursery, a service of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS), is providing greater access to services that promote family and child wellbeing. Since relocating in October from the Lake and First Building to the Center for Changing Lives at 1422 East Superior Street, the Crisis Nursery supported 170 children.

Staff at the Crisis Nursery support families facing crises with short-term childcare or supplies for children. Other LSS services at the center include transitional housing for youth, a teen health center and youth support groups. 

Bitter subzero temperatures are headed to the Twin Cities metro area Thursday.

There will be a huge temperature swing in short period. It was about 32 degrees at 11 a.m. and the temperature will fall to a feels like temperature of about -30 degrees about 12 hours later. 

“A night like this when it’s this cold, we just have to make sure we are out here making sure everyone has what they need so they can stay safe,” said Natasha Oreskovich with Street Works.

A new study from the University of Minnesota finds that at least 5,000 Minnesota youth have traded sex for food, money, alcohol, drugs, a place to stay or anything else of value.

The data comes after the 2019 Minnesota Student Survey included the question for the first time.

The state conducts the voluntary survey of ninth and 11th graders in Minnesota every three years.

Thief River Falls Resident Bob Loken provides care for his partner, Gail Hjelle, who was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease nearly five years ago. He assists her with daily tasks including getting ready in the morning, remembering medications and sitting down for meals.

After the REACH helped Kaytlin Williamson, 21, and her baby find a home, she continues to be a frequent visitor to its Youth Drop-In Center operated by Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota.

“This is like my second home now,” she said.

Cherish All Children, a service of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, will host a community event designed to equip community members to support youth in making safe and healthy choices in relationships, to prevent potentially exploitative situations.

Some people have good-luck charms or keepsakes that mean a lot to them. For Anoka teenager Sam Hanks, it’s a bracelet he always wears — a token from a summer camp for kids who’ve sustained burn injuries.

After attending the camp for three years, 15-year-old Hanks is about to age out of Camp RED, but he’s sending other kids there thanks to $5,000 from a fundraising event he organized in November.