Empowering Caregivers At Lifescape
Safety and connection have always gone hand in hand at Lifescape, an organization dedicated to providing care for children and adults across South Dakota.
In 2025, Lifescape received a $100,000 Beyond Idea Grant from South Dakota Community Foundation for its Safe Care Project, an initiative aimed at improving staff safety and promoting healthy, positive behavior support for the people Lifescape serves. The Beyond Idea Grant program, offered in partnership with the Bush Foundation, funds community-based ideas that move South Dakota forward.
Jessica Wells, president of the Lifescape Foundation, sat down with Ginger Nieman, senior program officer at SDCF, to discuss how the Safe Care Project came together and the difference it is already making.
A Statewide Mission
Jessica has spent 23 years at Lifescape and the last 15 as president of the foundation. She calls the work a “calling.”
“I don't know if anyone chooses to be a fundraiser. I think it calls you, and that's definitely the case for me. So I'm just grateful to have the opportunity to impact people's lives in South Dakota.”
Lifescape is a statewide organization serving a little over 5,000 individuals a year. Its work includes a children's residential program and school in Sioux Falls, along with outpatient and outreach therapies delivered directly in schools, daycares and homes across the state. In Rapid City, Lifescape runs an outreach clinic and a specialty hospital for children recovering from illness or surgery. In Sioux Falls, its adult services include residential care, day services and supported employment.
Turning a Need into an Idea
The Safe Care Project grew out of a simple observation: Lifescape's mission to help people live their best life needed to include staff. When staff feel confident and safe, they can do more for the people they care for.
“We identified that our mission not only serves the people that we support, but also the staff who are providing those services. We wanted to improve the safety in the environment our staff works in, and we also wanted to promote healthy lifestyle opportunities for the individuals that we support,” said Jessica.
The Big Idea Grant funded three connected initiatives: protective equipment innovation, behavioral health integration through exercise-based programming, and cross-sector collaboration with South Dakota's higher education institutions to strengthen the future workforce.
Reinventing Protective Gear, One Prototype at a Time
The children Lifescape supports sometimes communicate through aggression, including biting and head-butting, which put staff at real physical risk. Off-the-shelf materials like Carhartt jackets weren’t enough protection and were often uncomfortable.
Lifescape partnered with Dakota State University's ADAPT lab to design something better: jackets and gloves with built-in bite guards, protective headgear and chap-style pants, which are currently in development.
“Here's our issue. The most common places staff get bit can be hard to keep safe. How do we protect those kinds of soft areas like their hands, but still allow them the movement that they need to respond and to be able to support kids in all their different environments,” said Jessica.
The process is iterative. DSU students deliver prototypes, Lifescape staff test them in real-world settings, and the feedback shapes the next version. Students are now experimenting with a chainmail-inspired design made from a heavier, flexible plastic that stays breathable. Jessica is excited by the possibilities.
“We aren't the only provider that supports individuals with aggressive behaviors. You could look even outside of our industry, maybe the police force, hospitals or other behavioral care facilities. So really it would have a scope of being able to have an impact beyond just our sector.”
The BIG grant made the leap possible in a way Lifescape's regular funding sources couldn't. Buying 3D printers and dedicating staff time to research and testing was too costly to absorb through reimbursement-based funding alone. Now, for Jessica, the future and scope of Lifescape’s care looks bright.
A Full-Circle Moment
Jessica pointed to a recent powwow hosted in Lifescape's children's residential school as a clear example of what the Safe Care Project makes possible.
The event drew a couple hundred community members, along with drumming, singing and dancing—an environment that can be overwhelming for some of the children Lifescape supports. Now, thanks to better protective gear, children who would otherwise be secluded from an overstimulating environment were able to participate.
“For me, that’s a huge win. When we can get these kids who can be really isolated out into society, where they get to be there with their friends, and culture and have family members close to them, it’s so special.”
Advice for Other Nonprofits
Jessica's advice to South Dakota nonprofits considering a Beyond Idea Grant application is straightforward: Start the conversation.
“I would say go for it. A lot of times in nonprofits we feel very limited in our thinking. Like, okay, this is the only funding I have, this is the only thing I can do. But the Beyond Idea Grant says no, think about possibilities and take that leap. Truly, I would say just keep communicating and asking questions and developing your ideas, and take that leap and apply.”
What Philanthropy Means to Jessica
Jessica noted that philanthropy creates a two-way benefit, transforming not only the recipient but also the giver. While a donor often expects their gift to make a significant difference for someone else, they frequently find that the experience reshapes their own perspective just as profoundly.
“Philanthropy is just one of the most amazing opportunities to really make a difference in everyone’s lives, and it doesn't have to be a huge dollar amount to make a difference. Sometimes it's the consistent, small donations that push a mission forward. Philanthropy is putting your values to work in the communities around you. It's really a safety net for vulnerable populations.”
To learn more about the Beyond Idea Grant program and other funding opportunities through South Dakota Community Foundation, visit https://www.sdcommunityfoundation.org/.
To learn more about Lifescape's mission and programs across South Dakota, visit https://www.lifescapesd.org/.