Our hearts go out to the families of the victims who lost their lives during the deadly rampage in Atlanta this week: Delaina Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Soon C. Park, Hyun J. Grant, Suncha Kim and Yong A. Yue. Our thoughts and prayers are with the community as they heal from this terrifying incident. 

Over the past year, there has been an increasing number of violent acts including physical assault, discrimination, harassment and hatred towards members of the Asian, Asian-American, and Pacific Island communities. 

We at Briarpatch denounce prejudice, racism and hatred of any kind and are deeply troubled by this act of violence in our country. We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in all Asian communities to condemn targeted acts of violence and are committed to work together to address ongoing acts of racism and hatred.  

We must all stand to eliminate the violent acts of racism, sexism, xenophobia and ensure that hate crimes and other forms of injustice will not be tolerated in our country.  

Due to COVID-19, Briarpatch has implemented the following protocols:

• All youth and family members receiving services at Briarpatch are asked to wear a face mask. Persons who choose not to wear a face mask will be asked to leave the Briarpatch building.
• Youth and family members receiving services at the Briarpatch building will be asked to have their temperature taken with a no touch thermometer. Persons with a fever, or persons who choose not to have their temperature taken, will be asked to leave the Briarpatch building.
• Youth and family members are asked to bring their own face mask when coming to Briarpatch for services.
• The Briarpatch Youth Shelter is open with social distancing protocols in place.

Please call 608.245.2550 or 608.251.1126 with any questions.

 In Dane County it is estimated approximately 300 youth go to bed homeless each night. 1 in 3 youth will be approached for sex in exchange for food, shelter, drugs, etc. within 48 hours of leaving home; 75% of these youth have already or will drop out of school. These are good kids in bad situations and they need our help. The staff at Briarpatch Youth Services work with these youth to make sure they have the resources and support they need in order to succeed. Learn more here. 

 Copies of our Annual Report are available to the public and may be found here.

Briarpatch Youth Services is a 501(c)3 organization. 

EIN 39-1391737