St. David's Center expanding in Minneapolis to provide more autism treatment, pediatric therapies
MINNEAPOLIS — A long-time Twin Cities nonprofit is growing to serve more children and their families.
St. David's Center provides mental health services, autism treatment and pediatric therapy.
For Hawa Hassan, it's a special, transformative place.
"It's now my second house," Hassan said.
It's where Hassan says she found a second family after her oldest son, Ahmed, was diagnosed with autism before starting school.
MORE NEWS: North Minneapolis plant-based business to fight hunger, educate community on healthy eating
"It was not only with the therapy, they helped me with the outside life also," Hassan said.
For nearly 65 years, St. David's Center has provided inclusive early childhood education, along with therapeutic and support services.
"Those support services include mental health, pediatric therapies, autism treatment, parent/child home visiting and disability services," said CEO Julie Sjordal.
She says more than 5,000 children and families receive a step-up from St. David's Center each year, and more are waiting for help.
"I can't describe the desperation we hear from families that call our central intake line and are looking for any help they can get," Sjordal said. "We have a 1,800-child waitlist for pediatric therapies and mental health primarily."
With those growing needs in mind, St. David's Center announced an expansion at its 35th Annual Make Them Shine Gala. The nonprofit is purchasing the YWCA building on Nicollet Mall just around the corner from its Harman Center campus.
"They had a few offers and they selected St. David's Center for a reason," Sjordal said. "We were already partnering and thinking about ways our two organizations could serve families better together."
MORE NEWS: Meet Spencer, Minnesota's first robot health care worker
She says early intervention is key, which is why they felt compelled to do more.
"Most of the kids we see, we see before they enter school and our goal is to help them be school-ready," Sjordal said.
Hassan's son, who is now 11, graduated from the program last October. He's fully integrated at school and finding success.
"He no have a behavior, no social (issues), he's polite. He's more polite than other kids," Hassan said.
He misses St. David's Center, but already has a plan for that.
"He complain always (laughs)! He say, 'I want to go back, I want to go back. I want to go back,' and he come and say, 'When I grow up I'll come and work with the other kids here,'" Hassan said.
St. David's Center hopes to close on the YWCA building by early summer. They expect to have renovations underway by 2025 and the project completed by early 2026.
Its other campuses in Minneapolis and Minnetonka will continue to serve families.
