About 50 people gathered in the sunshine outside the Youth Homes office Monday afternoon for a kick-off event launching the public phase of a capital campaign for a new therapeutic youth crisis shelter.
Youth Homes provides support services and group homes to youth and families in Missoula, Helena, Kalispell and Polson. In 2023, its first-ever home, Attention Home, had to close due to economic challenges.
“But the need didn’t go away,” board chair Eric Petersen told the crowd.
While the home has been closed, Petersen said, about 150 youth have needed the services it used to provide. Over the past year, Youth Homes has been raising the money it needs to build a new youth therapeutic shelter.
The new home will provide a place to live and therapeutic services for up to eight kids aged 10-17 who otherwise would have gone to the emergency room, youth detention, or emergency placements, which can sometimes be on the floor of a social worker’s office, Schaer told the crowd.
The home is being built on a lot owned by the organization, which saves some money. The goal is $4 million, and after getting funds from grants and private donors, such as a $750,000 grant from the Department of Health and Human Services, Youth Homes still needs $600,000 more. It’s asking the community to pitch in the rest.
“We’re asking for the community help and support to get to the finish line,” Schaer said.
The event also announced that the shelter will be named Birnbaum Youth Home after Geoffrey Birnbaum, who died suddenly last year. Birnbaum was the organization’s executive director for 42 years, and even after he retired in 2018, he stayed involved with the organization and was involved in the campaign to build this new shelter, Schaer said.
“We thought the best way to honor him would be to name the home after him,” Schaer told the Missoulian.
“It’s a bittersweet day,” Mike Birnbaum, Geoffrey’s son, told the crowd. “Our family is so pleased he’s being honored this way.”
After the speech, Birnbaum told the Missoulian that helping at-risk youth had been a passion project for his father since the ’70s.
“I think he always was motivated by a deep love and care for kids that were less fortunate,” Birnbaum said. “He did difficult things easily for this organization because he was passionate about it.”
Schaer explained that the Birnbaum home will pull in money from multiple revenue sources, such as Medicaid reimbursement and targeted case management.
“We knew it needed to be different, and it needed to be sustainable,” Schaer said.
To start serving youth as soon as possible, construction has started alongside the fundraising. The shelter broke ground in July, Schaer said, and is projected to open this fall. Youth Homes will continue to fundraise at events like the Missoula Marathon to raise the money it needs.
“We knew the kids couldn’t wait,” Schaer said.
Andy Tallman is the criminal justice reporter for the Missoulian.
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