Focus on Living Duluth - Focus on Living

A little extra help goes a long way

Focus on Living works with individuals and families across Northern Minnesota to make everyday life a little more manageable.

Services

Careers

Employees

Helping The Community Around Us

At Focus on Living, we’re here to help with the day-to-day stuff that can start to pile up.

We work with people across Northern Minnesota, including places like Duluth and the surrounding communities. A lot of what we do is showing up, being consistent, and helping people find a rhythm that works for them.

Our Mission

“At Focus On Living our Residents come first. Our Residents’ safety, health and well-being come above all else. We are devoted to every detail of their care. The Focus On Living program creates opportunities for Residents with mental illness and traumatic brain injury. We provide a setting that is caring yet challenging. Our staff establishes meaningful boundaries so our Residents’ goals know no bounds. We help our Residents turn destructive behaviors into productive behaviors. We respect a client’s dignity and self-image by interacting in a positive, enthusiastic manner. Focus On Living promises to be the Northland’s most conscientious and effective adult foster care corporation. We underscore everything we do with the belief, Our Residents Come First.”

Our Philosophy

Focus On Living will maximize each client’s level of independence as well as provide high levels of structure and care. Our goal will be to teach our Residents living skills and work with them to make choices that will help them be successful outside of our facility.

“We’re a business, but that’s not the way we look at it. We’re in it to focus on our Residents and to stay focused on our Residents. Human services are what we’ve focused on our whole lives. It’s what we know.”

~ Rich Heine & Tom Kriech

About Focus on Living

At Focus on Living, the work didn’t start when the first homes opened in 2006. It’s built on decades of experience, nearly 40 years in human services and another 16 in military service. When the opportunity came to start something of their own, it wasn’t about stepping away, it was about doing things the right way. From the beginning, the goal has been to stay involved, stay hands-on, and make sure every client is treated like a person, not a number. That mindset still drives everything today, from weekly conversations around client progress to the way care is delivered day to day.

Over the years, Focus on Living has grown while staying true to that approach. With nearly 20 years of experience operating foster homes, a team that’s trained to handle high-behavior situations, and a focus on the whole person, the work goes beyond just supervision. It’s about helping people build toward more independence and finding ways to connect them to the world around them. Strong communication with care teams, steady support from staff, and leadership that advocates for each client all play a role. Across Northern Minnesota, including communities like Duluth, the focus remains the same, our Residents come first.

What We Offer Our Residents

At Focus on Living, support goes beyond just a place to stay. We make sure each person has access to the care, structure, and opportunities they need to keep moving forward.

Residents have ongoing access to a full range of medical and support professionals. That includes in-house RN oversight, regular physician reviews, and connections to general practitioners, psychiatrists, psychologists, behavior analysts, and more. Care is coordinated and reviewed consistently so nothing slips through the cracks.

Private rooms with meals and snacks

Banking and daily living support

Experienced clinical and medical staff

Trained and on-call crisis staff,

Field trips and social gatherings

Anger management and cognitive rehabilitation

Transportation and help getting where you need to go

Help building public transportation skills

cONNECT wITH oUR tEAM

Give Us A Call: (218) 722-1170

Email Us:

Work At Focus On Living

Focus on Living offers a rewarding place to work, and it shows in how our team carries out our “Our Residents Come First” mission every day. This is a great opportunity for those looking to build meaningful experience in human services, especially for new professionals starting in the field.

We offer a range of incentives and support for our staff, including:

Company contribution toward health insurance for eligible employees

Employee of the Month recognition and bonus

Commendation letters for outstanding work, added to personnel files

Opportunities for advancement, with leadership roles posted internally first

Our HR team provides strong support from the start, including up-front training, job shadow shifts, and in-home quality assurance support to help staff feel confident in their roles.We also have a mobile crisis team available to assist staff during more challenging situations, so no one is left to handle things alone. Full-time behavior specialists and overnight staff are eligible for health insurance and additional benefits.

What Past Residents have Said

“We’re a business, but that’s not the way we look at it. We’re in it to focus on our Residents and to stay focused on our Residents. Human services are what we’ve focused on our whole lives. It’s what we know.”

~ Rich Heine & Tom Kriech