CornerStone Community, Youth, & Family Resource Center

To build a healthier community for families & youth by providing nutritious food, mentorship, fitness, arts, culture, and skill development in a safe, supportive environment—while making connections to the resources they need to thrive.

CornerStone was developed in response to poor health outcomes in Becker County. Specifically, youth in Frazee-Vergas Schools showed the greatest disparities in the county with high rates of depression and suicidality among teens. Youth were engaged in listening sessions to understand why they were experiencing poor mental health outcomes and what would be needed to improve it. In summary, youth identified that they did not feel welcome or wanted in the community, they had no place to eat with their friends, if they weren't in sports there was nothing to do, and they lacked supportive adults in the community. They identified the need for a cool space with fun activities, positive adults who care, with good food and where they could hang out with friends.

This launched the vision of CornerStone which was formally established in 2019 as a 501c3. Today, due to community demand, we have expanded our reach becoming a Family Resource Center to protect youth from crisis situations. We serve school-aged youth with a safe place for art, connection, and nourishment after school. Families come to us for crisis prevention, connection to resources, education, and peer development activities. Our workforce program supports and employs youth and budding entrepreneurs. We host special events and summer programming for all ages and aim to make Frazee a thriving community where families & youth are connected and empowered to lead, create, and succeed.