Washburn Center for Children

06/09/2026

The world just recognized what we already knew: the Twin Cities shows up for each other.

Now here's another way to do it. 💙

FREE Mental Health First Aid trainings are open this summer — and spots are filling. In one day, you'll learn to recognize the signs that someone is hurting and know what to do next. For kids. For adults. For the people you love.

Thanks to a SAMHSA grant, this training is completely free.

📅 Dates through September — youth and adult curricula available

🔗 See all dates and sign up: washburn.org/mhfa

06/03/2026

On Sunday, the Twin Cities received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award — for what this community did when federal immigration enforcement arrived with force and urgency that shook families to their core.

Children were watching all of it.

Fear and worry settled in. They watched the raids. They watched the adults in their lives try to hold things together under impossible pressure. And they absorbed it — into their bodies, disrupting routines and sleep, their ability to learn and trust and feel safe.

This is why we launched A Surge of Hope. The word "surge" meant something painful in Minnesota. We are reclaiming it — because the same courage that earned this city a national award is the same courage it takes to get a child into a therapist's office, to keep showing up, to believe recovery is possible.

One in three Minnesota students still reports symptoms of depression or anxiety. That number is coming down — proof that the right support works. But we are still in a crisis.

If the people of the Twin Cities can earn a Profile in Courage, we can meet this moment for our kids too.

A Surge of Hope starts here: onecau.se/_g5hcb1

05/31/2026

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. But today — the last day of May — the need doesn't pause for summer.

Right now, 1 in 3 children is struggling with their mental health. A major new study of 1.8 million children found that mental health concerns at pediatric visits have nearly doubled in the past decade. Anxiety is the fastest-growing issue our kids are facing.

At Washburn Center for Children, we're seeing this every day. Trauma and stress-related disorders are now the most common diagnoses among the children we serve. When immigration enforcement intensifies in our community, the fear doesn't stay behind closed doors — it follows kids to school, to the playground, into their sleep. Every child who experiences loss, grief, and trauma carries that weight too.

School's almost out — or for some, it already is. For many families, that means less routine, less stability, and fewer touchpoints with adults who notice when something's wrong.

This is exactly why our community needs to act.

Join our Surge of Hope and invest in kids' mental health. Because a child who gets help today becomes a healthy, whole adult that our community needs for a hope-filled future.

👉 onecau.se/_g5hcb1

05/22/2026

Washburn Center for Children will be closed in honor of Memorial Day on Monday, May 25. If you or someone you know is experiencing mental health distress or crisis, call 988. If there is immediate danger, call 9-1-1.

Our team will resume regular business hours Tuesday, May 26.

05/17/2026

Healing from trauma doesn't happen all at once. It's a puzzle, broken into a million pieces — put back together one day at a time.

CNN's Michelle Krupa and photographer Liam James Doyle spent time with the Annunciation School community to tell that story. And in telling it, they captured what our team does every day: show up, stay present, and walk alongside students, caregivers and staff through the hardest moments.

Since September, our team has had a dedicated presence in Annunciation Catholic School. A teacher calls in: "Hi, Washburn friends. Can I get a Washburn helper in room 103?" — and someone is there.

We're grateful to Michelle and Liam for helping the world see what healing looks like from the inside.

📖 Read the full story: https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2026/05/us/minneapolis-annunciation-school-shooting-recovery/
🎙️ Listen to the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cnn-one-thing/id1640318521

News Commentary Podcast · Updated Weekly · You’ve been overwhelmed with headlines all week – what's worth a closer look? One Thing takes you beyond the headlines and helps make sense of what everyone is talking about. Host David Rind talks to …

05/15/2026

05/15/2026

A child's story can change — with the right support, at the right time. Donate today: A Surge of Hope starts here.

05/07/2026

Today is Children's Mental Health Day. 💙

The children we serve are carrying things that are hard to imagine. Trauma. Grief. A world that has felt terrifying and unpredictable.

They need us.

Not in an abstract way — but in specific, daily ways:

✔ Listen to a child in your life. Ask how they see themselves in the world.
✔ Help them navigate hard things. You don't have to have all the answers to show up.
✔ Get trained in Youth Mental Health First Aid. It builds the confidence to be the adult a child turns to.
✔ Advocate. Tell your legislators that children in Minnesota deserve access to quality mental health care.

One family who came to Washburn put it this way: "Having you on our side was paramount to our success and made us feel more confident as parents."

We are honored to walk alongside children and families as they heal. But we can't do it alone — and we were never meant to.

This is community-wide trauma. It deserves a community-wide response.

Share this post if you believe every child deserves support. 💙

05/04/2026

May is Mental Health Month. For children in our community, it's also a moment of urgency.

Kids today are navigating the biggest mental health crisis of our lifetime — and the weight of trauma doesn't wait for the right moment or the right policy. It shows up in classrooms, in homes, in silence.

Community action has never been more critical. At Washburn Center for Children, we believe you can't stop what these kids have lived through — but together, we can change what happens next.

This spring, we're proud to launch A Surge of Hope, made possible in part by a lead gift from M.A. Mortenson Companies.

Your decision to give and learn is an act of belief in children who need it now.
Give today. 💛 A Surge of Hope starts here: https://my.onecause.com/fundraiser/organizations/sf-001C000000uRiN9IAK/fundraisers/fundraiser:847e4256-babc-4904-8993-9430fe7e167c

Sign up for Mental Health First Aid classes: https://washburn.org/2026-mental-health-first-aid/

04/29/2026

The Academy of American Pediatrics affirms that mental health care and screenings for children are as important as those annual physical health appointments.

https://www.parents.com/new-aap-report-on-mental-health-11959447