Step inside the activity room, or the day-care room, or the cafeteria at Wellcome Manor, and you’ll see why this addiction treatment program is unique.

Children are playing, eating snacks, pedaling tricycles. While their moms are working on recovery, they are just a few feet away working hard at being kids.

Although other local treatment facilities exist, there aren’t many that allow an addict’s children to live with her at the treatment center.

Doing so, studies show, dramatically improves addicts’ chances to repair damage done to their relationships with their children, which helps both mom and the kids.

Keeping families together reduces the chances of the kids entering the taxpayer-supported criminal justice system one day. It also reduces the number of kids in the taxpayer-supported foster care system.

“This is a really good example of why we do what we do,” Wellcome Manor Coordinator Gwenn Wolters says as she nods to a group of smiling toddlers huddled around a table and drinking milk. “If somebody doesn’t do something, they’ll be in a juvenile program some day.”

Wolters is among the many nonprofit leaders around the state holding their breath and waiting to see what the recession will bring them.

Already nonprofits are seeing fewer dollars coming in from donors. And some nonprofits, especially ones dealing with low-income families or others in need, are seeing increased demand for their services.

Don’t panic yet

AmyJo Lennartson, regional coordinator for the South Central Chapter of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, said nonprofits in southern Minnesota are experiencing the same troubles as those in the Twin Cities.

The difference, she said, is that nonprofits in the Twin Cities have more grant opportunities available to them.

Lennartson, who communicates regularly with area nonprofits, says nonprofits haven’t begun to panic. Yet.

“There’s definitely a lot of concern and they are getting more creative, for sure,” she said.

One recent trend is more openness to collaboration. Lennartson said community leaders have been saying for years they’d like to see more collaboration among nonprofits. Now that the economy is faltering, collaboration among nonprofits to save money is becoming more popular.

There’s also a demand for skill-building workshops such as fundraising.