MISSOULA, Mont. — A Missoula nonprofit is celebrating the opening of its new youth home and therapeutic crisis shelter.
The Birnbaum Youth Home provides emergency shelter and support for children ages 10 to 17.
The new home honors Geoff Birnbaum after his sudden passing in 2025.
Birnbaum was the executive director of Youth Homes for 42 years.
“We wanted to make sure that this home was still needed. So, after we closed the Attention Home in 2023, we went to our partners and said, do you still need this? Because we don’t need to build something that’s not needed, and everyone said yes, we need this open now,” said Amy Schaer, the chief executive director for Youth Homes.
Birnbaum’s legacy lives on in his family and the youth he helped during and after his time as executive director. His daughter Mona attended the opening of the new home named in his honor.
“He always made that really clear, that it took all of us to give, to make that community work, and I so admired that about him, and to this day I think it’s so important to remember the community. You know, they say it takes a village to just raise your own kids, like it takes a village to raise my kids, but it definitely takes a village to raise these kids,” Mona Rogers said.
The Birnbaum Home will offer more than a place to stay. A therapist and targeted case manager will be on-site to help youth work through mental health challenges, crisis and other needs.
Youth are expected to begin moving into the home by Sept. 15.
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