A Burnsville man's crusade to help others

When Haley Snyder needed help getting out of some difficult situations, she turned to a man she did not know.

He's Doug Kauffman, a modern-day missionary who is fast becoming a one-man social service clearinghouse for people in and around Dakota County.

He counsels them, finds them transportation, and sometimes lines up housing or storage or chemical dependency help.

And it is all done out of his modest Burnsville home.

"He's amazing," said Snyder, who had personal and medical problems when she posted an online request this month for people to pray for her.

Kauffman responded with a message so moving that it brought Snyder to tears, she said. They have since exchanged e-mails, communicated by phone and talked about her situation and life.

"I needed to know that I was not alone," said Snyder, who was exiting what she described as an abusive relationship when she posted her request. "My last two years have been a life crisis."

He said the need is incredible, with Dakota County having one of the highest divorce rates in the state, if not the highest. Also, he said, there are hundreds of foreclosures or bankruptcies each month here.

"What I'm trying to do is provide others with hope in a time of crisis," Kauffman said. "I tell people that I am a missionary, but instead of going off to the continent of Africa I am right here in Dakota County."

Kauffman is not an ordained minister or acting officially on behalf of a church. But his website reveals a deep connection to religious teachings: It espouses a literal interpretation of the Bible and calls for followers to embrace Christianity or face eternal damnation.

By all accounts Kauffman is incredibly empathetic and a good listener, in part because of the things the 45-year-old has been through himself: bankruptcy, divorce, foreclosures, unemployment.

"As soon as I tell them what I've been through, that I've been through it, the walls just come tumbling down," said Kauffman, who is in the process of getting nonprofit certification from the Internal Revenue Service for his organization. "People just spill their guts."

'He's done a lot for me'

"I can't say enough about Doug. He's done a lot for me," Epstein said by phone while filming a documentary in New Mexico. "I was self-medicating. Every time I was down I could always talk with Doug. Every time I hang up the phone with him I feel better."

According to those he's helped, Kauffman is able to draw people out so they can unburden themselves.

Kauffman said he has helped about 90 people, some of them around the state and the country as word-of-mouth has spread about his work. He also has a website (www.hope360.org) to tell his story and provide links to social service agencies.

"He makes a world of difference," said Tom Pierantoni, an unemployed and recently divorced financial worker in Charlotte, N.C., who heard about Kauffman's work through a mutual friend. "Just to be able to talk about the divorce was very healing."

"He always seems to know what you're going through," Epstein said. "I don't know how he does it. It's sort of magical."

He spends his time talking with companies, individuals, organizations or anyone willing to donate time, services or money to help those in need.

He has mechanics who will provide free or reduced-price work on cars so people can get to work. He has movers who will provide free transportation for those kicked out of their homes. He has people with storage units who will allow people to store their stuff while they look for a new home. He has links to agencies to help people get social services for their life crises.

"It has been overwhelming, but its working," said Kauffman, who thought about doing this type of ministry while in college but put it off. "It's been a long time coming."

Kauffman, who has spent the past 18 months building up his connections and resources, has been encouraged in his work spiritually and financially by his church, River Valley in Apple Valley.