Glenn
Positive Alternatives is VERY aptly named.
Working at PA (on the business side) helped me to continually remember that kids are not born "bad" but somehow learn it through following poor behaviors of family, peers, and circumstances. PA usually successfully provides the total "positive alternative" environment to help clients remodel their whole persons to become "good" kids, able then to lead happier and ultimately more successful lives.
As an employee, I achieved satisfaction to have, with Kelli and the Board, significantly improved the company's retirement benefit through indexed investments, much lower administrative costs, and very beneficial vesting rules. The changes quickly increased employee participation rates, contribution amounts, and financial planning for the future, all "positive alternatives" provided by the company for its employees to model. I suspect that the retirement benefit has been a tipping point for some (many?) employees to accept employment and/or remain with PA a bit longer or for the long, long term, to the company's benefit as well and at relatively low cost.
Bree
My name is Bree Lane, and I go by she/they. I started at PA back in February of 2023. This was my first job as a caretaker. When I first started at PA, I didn't communicate well and was very socially awkward. As a kid, I went through a lot, and knowing that I could help kids who were in the same situation made me fall in love with working at PA.
What I love most about PA is that Brenna and Chris have been helping me work through some of my own mental struggles. They helped me navigate through mistakes I had made and taught me how to handle the youth in a better manner. Recently, I was in a car accident, and I learned how to take a step back and let go of control. They have been working hard with me, supporting me through my recovery with a broken leg.
I have had the best support from my fellow co-workers. I have made a family with my co-workers, and they took me in after the hospital so I wasn't alone and had help while I healed. I will always be thankful for my job and for everyone in it.
Amber
I want to say thank you so much for what Kelli Kamholz and Positive Alternatives have done in my life when I was a child. If it weren't for Kelli Kamholz and Positive Alternatives, I honestly don't know how I would have turned out as a child and the person I am today.
I had a troubled past when I was very young, and I was put in Positive Alternatives. At first, I did not want help from anyone, so I went there with an attitude where I didn't care what they were going to say to me. But then there were a couple of staff members, like Kelli Kamholz, who helped me understand what Positive Alternatives was about. Mind you, it took me a month or so to open up and let anybody talk to me or help me more. But they kept trying, and eventually, I allowed them to help me. It has made me get farther in life because I have also learned coping skills that I still use today. It wasn't an easy walk, but I had my good and bad days there, like any child would when they have to be in a group home. But honestly, to this day, I can say I'm glad that I was part of the Positive Alternatives experience, and I will always support what they do because if it weren't for them, I don't know where I'd be.
Client
I love how one of the staff members brought in their dog during the winter and how another resident and I were outside playing in the snow—it was so much fun! I also love how spacious every room is, and the kitchen is just amazing. They also taught me how to cope with my trauma ✨😊
Jennifer
Many may not know that the current River Falls building/home is actually the second River Falls location. Many years ago, I had the opportunity to be the Adolescent Care Manager alongside Kelli Kamholz to start the River Falls location. Interestingly, the first location is just down the street. In the beginning, the staff office was in the laundry room/garage entryway. There wasn't a TV for quite some time, and all we had to get started was a hamburger puzzle. Positive Alternatives made the front page of the local newspaper—mostly because of the town's skepticism about us being there. Thankfully, that attention faded.
I saw many really amazing staff members, some right from the local college, come and go, all of whom truly made a positive difference in the lives of the youth. I saw many youth go through difficult and positive times. I worked with local communities and counties who shared their care for youth who were against the odds. I can only hope I helped change "just one life." For me, the experience was unmatched, and I'm grateful for those good, and sometimes less-than-good, days.