VOA Bar None Residential Services – Anoka

Bar-none is officially permitted closed! There sense of relief and hopefully time of healing for all the hurt been there.

It's interesting I totally forgot about this place until someone brought up we should get rid of foster care and have group homes. This place is the reason that is a bad idea. This was a torture chamber. Kids need love… not torture. They've already been through enough.

This place needs to be shut down, they have had many incidents including residents hanging themselves and cutting themselves with glass from a broken window that was left uncovered till repair. This stuff should never… of happened in a place like this and they did not help my step child at all they made her more traumatized and made it all worse for her. Her mom pulled her out because of it, this definitely should not be open at all.

I was court ordered to this facility in April of 1997. I spent my first year as a teenager here and was discharged in May of 1998. Once I began to follow the program my life got easier. There were plenty of horrible… moments while I was here though. Any small disobedience would knock you down to level 0 and you were forced to sit in a 6' by 6' box in the lower level of the house for an hour. If you didn't calm down or were disrespectful to the staff your hour on level 0 could turn into several hours of isolation. I spent many hours in the box at a time banging my head against the wall. Eventually I learned to be calm when I got knocked down to level 0 and did my hour of time. In order to get back to the general population you had to write an essay on the behavior that got you put on level 0. Writing was a daily task that I had to complete. I had to think about situations daily where I acted out and write about it. They used thinking errors and tactics to make you think about how you interact with others. I had to goals each day to focus on certain thinking errors and tactics. My handwriting got really small and was perfect from my daily essays. Having to look at myself and my flaws so deeply at such a young age helped shape the person I am today. I was taught that my thoughts became feelings which became emotions and then actions. I had to control my emotions in order to act in a positive manner. I ended up getting to step 4 out 5 in the program before I was discharged. I remember only a handful of kids ever got to step 5. As you progress up the steps you got more privileges. This was a great incentive for me to start acting better. I do believe that there is some sort of brainwashing with having to write about your flaws daily. But this has made me extremely intelligent on how to interact with others and push situations to fit my narrative. As I moved up the steps I was able to transition to the public middle school. The long bus rides to and from school was the highlight of my day. I was able to escape the reality that I was living. I didn't have to think about what I did wrong in the moment and which thinking error I was going to write about. I was able to go on some outings and even a camping trip while I was there. I felt like the staff had my best interests in mind although I would lash out from time to time. My primary staff member Shad really helped me adjust to life at Bar None. He showed me how to be confident with myself and that I was a good person. I ended up becoming a leader of the house I was in even though I was younger than all the other residents. I showed self composure daily and really worked the program that was expected of me. Although I have many negative thoughts about this place; I know that it helped shape the man I am today. I live with integrity and I am a valuable part of my community. As an extremely troubled adolescent and then becoming a leader made me a much stronger person.This place was a challenge that I overcame and I am a better person because of it. I'm not sure how it has changed over the years. I think they had some good things going right for them in the 90's. My experience overall was uplifting but also a struggle at times. Mental and behavioral health will always be up to the individual to want the change.

I was put there in 1996 and it was the worst place I've ever been. Because I refused to keep rewriting an essay i had written 4 times already because the staff and residents were not happy with it i was kept in a… basement for months until the head lady decided they could not do that to me for fear of a lawsuit i hope no adolescent ever has to go through what i had to endure it changed my life not for the better.

The day this place gets shut down will be the day that every kid that has ever had to be stuck here during their hardest struggles will finally receive justice. I’ve been to Bar None twice.I went once at the age of 16… and was on shelter… and then again at the age of 17 on Haven. There is no nice way to explain the staff or anything about this place. The nicest way I can put it is…THIS PLACE NEEDS TO BE SHUT DOWN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!! I knew Bar None very well… I knew how they ran things, how they treated the residents, how the supervisors treated the employees, EVERYTHING! I was the first ever resident for the Haven facility. When I got there for my intake, I already knew what I was in for. Nothing changed. Bar None was still VERY disorganized, they had no idea what they were doing, they were not prepared at all. I was the only resident there for about 2 weeks and it was sweet at first because the staff didn’t have the ability to favorite certain residents… when residents started to come. That’s when things got worse. Staff started favoriting certain kids, letting certain residents do something and not letting the others… it was a big deal. It was constantly talked about. There was multiple conversations about the same topics. Favoritism, not following the handbook, staff making up their own rules, staff not being trained in certain situations… those were the main concerns residents were often brining up. Me being the first resident at Haven, I was also the first resident to discharge. And when I tell you my whole entire stay was a mess… I mean it. I had to focus more of my time telling the staff how to use their skills then focusing on my own mental health and the skills I can utilize for my own self. None of the staff were trained. Angela, Jenna, Brandon, Jenni, Collen, Tehya, Jamison, Riley, and Emily were some of the very few decent staff. Staff loved to punish all the residents for one kids behavior despite it being an individually based program… there were clearly very few staff that had experience in this type of field… if you read the requirements needed to be eligible for the job, it’s being over the age of 18 and having your drivers license… keep in mind your working with mentally ill children and that’s all that you are required. They clearly didn’t care if you were trained or fit for the job either… there were multiple romantic relationships between the staff which often caused issues as well. There was often staff drama that made things difficult to. The whole facility is a mess. They are constantly losing staff. They refused most of the residents their rights. When I was there, there were multiple different occasions of the cops being called and the kids pleading to the cops to do something about this place. The cops would always say “we are completely aware of the conditions and issues of this facility, it has been being looked into, unfortunately it’s a process” they even told us to call them if there were any other issues and when we tried to.. the staff would refuse to let us. I never want any kid to be in the position I was in. I was already struggling as it was and this place did nothing but make things 100 x worse for me. I beg you, if you’re a parent and your child is struggling do NOT place them here… do your research and find a facility that makes differences and helps children. Cause this is definitely not one of them.

I went to bar none it was a good place to learn how to use coping skills and more thank you to all the people that help me there I was fun when I did bad thing but I got on purple thank you grace and all the people there

I spent 11 months in this hell hole, was abused, escaped twice, got my cheek bone broken, was locked in a magnetic locking 8x8 cell for hours at a time every single day and everyone I met there left a worse person than… they came, not to mention the living conditions were horrible my window used to form ice on the windowsill in the winter and I’d wake up with sores on my face because it was so cold.

I am now 34 years old and a successful nurse and I still remember as a child at 14 years old coming to this place. There was one staff who I adored that only worked twice a week that made it okay to be there and I wish… I could remember her name. The rest of the staff were racist, hateful and mean. When they kicked me out of the place and transported me back to juvenile jail I remember the staff saying how they hated the children there etc. it was pure torture and places like this should be shut down. My home life was good compared to other kids it’s just my mom would discipline to the extreme sometimes and I would run away from home.

I was their between 2017 - 2018. I was the first kid to reach Phase 4 (the level system) and it was quite difficult but I eventually managed to do it. I really believe that Judy, Mickey, Lonnie, Reagan, and Jason were… the best staff and were genuinely trying to help me and other kids manage our emotions better. I could tell they truly cared. I remember the Beyblade battles and the outings were also pretty awesome. I'm not sure how it operates now but when I was there most of the time the staff and residents were over all decently chill, despite a few ups and downs. In the Sunrise building (if that's what it's still called) my hand print should still be in the hallway right outside the unit as it was the tradition done for those who graduated and we're ready to move forward. It wasn't perfect, yet it wasn't bad, so I opted for a 4/5.

Bar none does incredible work in a highly difficult field. They are amazing and always have their residents wellness as their top priority! Keep up the amazing work 🩷

My best friend and I were fishing on the lake next to this place, and we were just fishing, talking to each other, minding our own business, and one of the kids who was apart of this building, came out and cussed both… of us and flipped us off. My friend and I asked him what his problem was, to which he didn't respond and went back inside. I understand this place is for kids and young adults with serious maturity and behavioral issues, but my question is, where are the staff? I turned and look, and 0 staff were around when this dude cussed us out. Unbelievable.

Horrible place to send kids. Horribly under qualified staff, staff that scream at kids. Staff that are on substances. Therapists that don't care about the kids. All they do is fill beds to get money. The whole place is… a health violation. Find a better place to send your kids. Staff will gossip to the kids about inappropriate stuff. This place needs to be shut down.

I was placed here for behavioral problems when I was young. There are some genuinely good and caring staff, and obviously, there are also a few bad apples. What concerned me most was the cleanliness and the substandard… maintenance of their facilities, and honestly, I don’t blame the staff mostly. It was mainly terrible upper management, and I don’t believe it was the unit management. I feel the directors are to blame, along with some staff who felt entitled to their power.

Requirements for "residential counselors" are that they are at least twenty years old and can pass a criminal background check. Who in their right mind would think that a 20-year-old with no degree, no college… education, no prior experience, etc. could possibly possess the knowledge and background required to work with vulnerable youth? Absolutely shameful.

I was giving the opportunity this week to be able to paint one of the wings in a building. The staff I got to meet were extremely friendly. The day I was painting when the the kids were brought in they were overjoyed… and happy to be there. They were saying hi to a lot of the staff and were not rude or disrespectful to those of us who are volunteering to paint the building. This place seems to be a spot of healing and hope for a lot of kids that need help. If you have a child that goes here, I believe they are in good hands.

Don’t send your kid here. A counselor actually offered the kids a joint. A boy overdosed while at this facility this year. They go on field trips and don’t check the kids afterward for drugs. That boy offered the other… kids what he took. Very little help for drug rehabilitation, but unfair consequences for the other kids if one kid acts out. Doubt this place helps anyone with their problems. The staff constantly changes also.

If i could put it even lower i would, i lived there for only a couple of months and each day was terrible, freezing cold this is a prison the beds are metal with a small mattress on top like an actual prison i was 17… when i went in now I'm 19 and if i could i would throw hands with the staff, overall they abuse their power over and over again

terrible place

Lazy and verbally abusive staff, no one seems to care when a child goes missing.

Absolutely horrific treatment of the kids. The staff are all immature young adults that prioritize their own comfort over anyone else's. Certain members of the male staff will constantly "accidentally" walk in on the… girls changing. They will pick favorites among the kids and single out the ones they don't like. There is no regulation, no consequences for these people abusing their power. If you are parent with a child facing a shelter situation, DO NOT LET THEM END UP HERE.

I spent 22 months and 10 days at this place; July 12, 1996-May 22, 1998. Horrible experience. They discriminate based on religion. Teach you that you are the problem (at all times) in your life. They literally tried… telling me at one point that if I got assaulted on the street, I must have done something wrong. And they then expected me to take responsibility for that hypothetical scenario. Unfortunately, I was court ordered there, so my only realistic way out was to play the game. Can't say it didn't effect me, but it wasn't helpful in any meaningful way. Ironically, before I had gone to Bar None I hadn't ever drank or done drugs, yet after getting out I started smoking cannabis and that revolutionized my life! Calmed me right down, and I learned more about conflict resolution through a joint than anything they ever taught me. If you have kids here, I implore you to remove them and find a better facility, or, you know, man up and be a freaking parent. Your kids deserve better from you, and if they are stuck there, they deserve better than that. Long story short, shut this place down. As an ex resident, I consider being stuck there a form of abuse.

Back there when it was rough probably rougher than it is now some of the old buildings have had asbestos in it some of the staff are great some are not some abuse of power I was there for 4 years that I was 18 graduated… I went home yes it's not a place for kids I won't recommend sending your kids here like I said abuse of power

My most favorite job!!!!!!