‘The Nest’ changes focus, management
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
“If the plan is not working, change the plan, not the goal.” – author unknown
The Nest has been an incredible learning experience over the past couple years, and one of the most important things we have learned is that our area’s mothers need a higher level of care than The Nest can provide. From the beginning, we have known that an enormous unmet need in Lake County and the Flathead Reservation is a therapeutic home, a place where chemically dependent moms and their kids can live together while the moms address their substance abuse disorders.
We have turned down many applicants to The Nest because of active drug addiction. Substance abuse disorders are not something we had figured into the equation when we envisioned the services The Nest would offer. And frankly, it is something we are not equipped to manage. A therapeutic home would provide a safer place for these families; strictly enforced policies and procedures would provide them with more on-site resources directly related to substance abuse issues. Such a home exists in Missoula, the Carole A. Graham Home, and we believe the services that a therapeutic home can offer would be a blessing here.
So after much thought and discussion, the Board of Directors plans to transfer the home at 410 St. Mary’s Drive in St. Ignatius, its contents, and all other assets to the Western Montana Mental Health Center (WMMHC), the parent agency of the Carole Graham Home, the Lake House, and other recovery-based treatment centers in western Montana. WMMHC will assume and operate The Nest as a therapeutic home. We believe that this nonprofit organization has the capacity and the experience to run an excellent home that will more closely meet the needs of the mothers and children in our area.
We are proud of the foundation we were able to lay with our original vision, but feel we must respond to the reality of what our families who struggle with substance abuse really need. The Nest was always about serving moms and children, and it will continue to do that in a very effective manner. We plan to complete this transfer around the end of our current fiscal year, June 30, 2017.
We are forever grateful for the widespread outpouring of support we have received, and we are confident that The Nest will become an even greater asset to our community by providing a more therapeutic residence for moms working to maintain sobriety and learning to help their families thrive. We ask that you continue to support The Nest under WMMHC and its mission.
