Children

Kid’s Medical Needs Causes Setback

8 February 2024
Richard Bahr
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Categories: Children, Illness

“Alicia” has a two year old son with serious and complex medical needs. He was hospitalized for two weeks which caused a lot of missed work for Alicia and her son’s father. Due to this, they needed help with their rent for the month. At the same time, their landlord needed to move back into the home Alicia and her family were renting so they had to find a new place. Threshold to New Life was able to help them pay the past due rent and provide them with help for the first/last month rent requirements for their new place.

There are Many Reasons for Financial Gaps

6 December 2022
Richard Bahr
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Categories: Children, Illness
“Karen’s” two-year-old daughter had been extremely sick for the past year and needed surgery. She was not able to go to daycare due to an immune-compromised​ system
Karen had to quit her job to take care of her. This caused her to miss one month’s rent payment.
Karen was able to contribute a portion of the shortfall from her personal money.  Threshold to New Life contributed the remaining portion. Karen has since found a new job and has been able to stay in her home.

Box City Event

16 October 2022
Richard Bahr
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Categories: Children, Housing

Blaine High School has hosted a one night homeless “simulation” with dozens of students every year. They raise money for Hope4Youth while having a life altering and bonding experience with fellow students.

Our Co-Founder, Richard Bahr, presented during the evening, along with a representative from Hope4Youth.

This was held on Thursday, October 13th, and if you remember last week, it was our first measurable snow that evening. A real chilling event for the students.

We are grateful for the leadership at Blaine High School and those working in a leading Hope4Youth, who are working to “Provide pathways to end youth homelessness” in Anoka county.

Jake Breaks the Cycle of Homelessness for his Daughter

21 August 2022
Richard Bahr
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Categories: Addiction, Children, Homeless

Jake was not new to being homeless, which started as a child. His life as a young adult was hard, living on the streets, loneliness and addiction.  He knew there had to be a better life and started the recovery process.  After getting treatment, Jake had additional responsibilities, which included being a single dad to a newborn.  He needed a place to stay and had no network around the Twin Cities.

Through his church, he connected with Threshold to New Life.  They were able to help with rent for transitional housing while Jake worked on a long-term solution for himself and his baby.

Threshold was able to remove the immediate stress so he could focus on their eventual home.  They provided an opportunity to get him back on his feet.  Jake thanks God for laying the groundwork to get him connected to Threshold to New Life.

Jake’s future for himself and his daughter looks bright!

Carla Bahr

SECRETARY/TREASURER & ADVOCATE

Carla co-founded Threshold to New Life with her husband, Richard, in 2013. Carla handles the day-to-day operations for the organization dealing with partner organizations and working directly with clients.

She has spent a career in providing administrative support for executives at a number of prominent Twin City companies, which developed her organizational skills as well as the heart of a servant.

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Richard Bahr

PRESIDENT & CHAPLAIN

Having led and grown a leading capital equipment manufacturer with installations in 27 countries serving 17 of the top 20 pharmaceutical firms in the world, Bahr became determined to dedicate more of his time, talent and treasure to helping “the least of these."

He has a B.A. from Augsburg University in Business and has served on the boards of and has actively worked with several charitable organizations throughout his career. As a licensed minister, he volunteers as a chaplain at various homeless shelters along with providing leadership for 2.4 Ministries of Grace Fellowship, serving a daily breakfast to the homeless. He is also a published author. His most recent book, Those People, shares stories about his homeless friends. More about Bahr can be found on his website at www.richardbahr.com.

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Sheila Daniels

DIRECTOR

From Homeless to Faith – Following her experiences in dealing with both homelessness and chemical dependency, Sheila committed her life to Christ in 2004. As God began pulling the pieces of her life together, she began working for a non-profit homeless shelter in 2007, then earned her B.S. in Human Services in 2018. Following multiple promotions, she now is the Program Director at Hope Harbor at the Salvation Army in Minneapolis.

Sheila is originally from Chicago and has resided in the Twin Cities since the late ’90s. She is married and a soldier in The Salvation Army. Her empathy for those struggling with addiction, homelessness, and mental illness has oriented her vocation and volunteering to step in to help those in need.

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Danell Gibbins

DIRECTOR

Danell is a hands-on executive with several decades of senior level experience in the wholesale industry. Born and raised in North Dakota, she has lived in the Twin Cities area for more than 30 years, and she and her husband call the northern suburbs home.

In addition to volunteering with Threshold to New Life, she supports a number of other organizations which reflect her heart for poverty, food and family insecurity, and homelessness: World Vision, Common Hope, and Unseen among them. She loves to cook, eat, and make others feel welcome. She translates this into preparing and serving food at Simpson Shelter, Minneapolis, alongside her friends from Grace Fellowship, Brooklyn Park, MN.

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Denise Morrisette

DIRECTOR

A life-long Minnesotan, Denise is married to John and has two wonderful daughters and a son-in-law. She has spent her career as an elementary school teacher in a Title 1 school in a Twin City area school district.

Along with volunteering with Threshold to New Life, she has helped with several other homeless ministries. She sponsors children through World Vision and is currently a coach and mentor to the Girls on the Run organization, which promotes good self-esteem, positive role models, and moral education along with physical activity to girls in grades 3 – 5.

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John Morrisette

DIRECTOR

Also a life-long Minnesotan, John is married to Denise and has two wonderful daughters and a son-in-law. He has been an Environmental Scientist and has been operating his own business for 22 years.

Along with volunteering with Threshold to New Life, John has learned the joys of serving by being a Big Brother since 2012 and is currently a tutor at Sharing and Caring Hands. He has worked with at-risk teens at Maple Grove High School in the STRIVE program. He has also coached youth gymnastics and soccer for many years.

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Rob Van Beusekom

DIRECTOR

Rob was born and raised in the Minneapolis area and currently lives in the Northwest suburbs of Minneapolis with his wife, Nancy. He has a B.S. Degree in Finance from Saint Cloud State University and has spent the last 30 years of his career in corporate financial management and planning.

In addition to his role on the Board of Directors of Threshold to New Life, Rob is involved in several other non-profit organizations. He teaches financial literacy classes for several organizations, serves on the speakers’ bureau of Feed My Starving Children, and is a Compassion International and Campus Outreach sponsor. He is also involved in his church, Grace Fellowship in Brooklyn Park, where he serves as a church elder, men’s group leader, and small group leader.

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Nancy Van Beusekom

DIRECTOR

Nancy was born and raised in Wisconsin and has lived in the Twin Cities for over 35 years. She lives in the Northwest suburbs of Minneapolis with her husband, Rob. She has a B.S. Degree in Finance from University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and has spent the past 30 years of her career in business systems support and project management within the Financial Services Industry, where she recently retired.

In addition to her role on the Board of Directors of Threshold to New Life, Nancy teaches financial literacy classes for several non-profit organizations, ran the church bookstore for 4 years at Grace Fellowship Church, and is a Compassion International and Campus Outreach sponsor.

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Sherri Larson

DIRECTOR AND ADVOCATE

Sherri was born and raised in WI before moving to MN thirty plus years ago. She met her husband Dave on a blind date and they have 2 adopted children. Now both retired since 2018, she and Dave enjoy their respective and joint hobbies, spending time at their cabin, doing road trips and visiting with their children.

After working in the corporate world supporting the divisional VP for many years, Sherri was looking for something that helped people, not a corporate bottom line. She has been a volunteer advocate with Threshold to New Life since 2019. She is also a Drop Off Site co-leader with her husband at Grace Fellowship Church for Operation Christmas Child, collecting shoebox gifts from the surrounding community for children around the world, spreading the good news of Jesus to the children and their families and friends. She has also sponsored several children over the years thru Compassion International.

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Dave Larson

DIRECTOR

David was born and raised in northern Minnesota and has lived in the Twin Cities for over 35 years. He is married to Sherri and has two adopted children, a son and daughter. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Bemidji State University and had a variety of roles in the technology industry over the past 30 years.

After retiring in 2018, he now spends free time volunteering for various organizations and activities. He is a Drop off lead for Operation Christmas Child, providing leadership for shoebox collections at his Grace Fellowship site. In addition, he leads a small group at Grace Fellowship, as well as providing various staff support functions. During the summer months, he spends as much time as possible at his cabin in northern Minnesota.

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