This can be a confusing time for children of all ages right now. The coronavirus has caused most organizations to close their doors and one Bismarck youth group home has been closed for four weeks now.

Charles Hall provides residential foster care for youth between the ages of 10 and 19. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the youth have been gathered in one home rather than the three separate houses. They have nurses and residential staff, social workers and therapists that continue to assist them in person and through Zoom.

“Our kids have obviously never faced anything like this so they’re faced with a lot of new traumas and new things kinda being added to their plates and we’re doing everything we can to kind of offset what that feels like for them,” said Tomi Cimarosti, the Director of Residential Services at Charles Hall.

Here is a full list of what the kids need right now:

Puzzles, tablets (for keeping in connection with families via skype/zoom, etc.), video games, board games, Lego sets, calming music/sound machines and weighted blankets (each youth with sensory issues during COVID-19 would benefit from pressure/weighted blankets).

For more information go here.