Toby’s House Crisis Nursery in Great Falls has appointed Mysten Price as its new director, and has plans to expand their services providing free refuge and emergency care to children in the community.
Toby’s House was created in honor of October "Toby" Perez, a two-year-old girl who died at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend in Great Falls in 2011. The crisis nursery provides short-term care for children voluntarily brought there by a parent or legal guardian.
Toby’s House’s mission is to prevent child abuse and neglect by providing accessible emergency child care for a number of reasons - for example, if the caregiver is resolving personal issues and cannot care for the child as they would like, emergency custody issues, medical emergencies, or for mental health or sobriety support.
Price says the best part about being with Toby’s House is watching families grow.
She says, “When they first walk in the door, usually it's in a crisis, I’d say typically. Being able to kind of walk them through that process, give them the support that they need, to give their babies a safe place while they handle what they have to handle. The most beautiful piece of that is being able to see when the crisis kind of de-escalates, and being able to watch the parents breathe again."
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Price previously worked at Family Reunification Solutions and has experience with a wide variety of services to support families.
Plans for the future of Toby’s House include expanding their services like providing weekend daycare starting in the new year.
Price explained, “Toby's House is wonderful and has a wonderful foundation for child care, and I'm really excited to really grow that social work piece and other community outreach and kind of following up with our families and just seeing how we can support them outside of Toby's house and get them those wraparound services that they need."
Toby’s House also offers care to children waiting for slots at other daycares in the area, as well as giving food, clothes, diapers, and other items to families at no cost with no income requirements.
As a nonprofit organization, Toby’s House relies on community donations and grants, and is always accepting donations of goods to provide for families in need or volunteers.
To learn more, volunteer, or donate, click here to visit the website, or click here to visit the Facebook page. You can also call 406-770-3191 or email admin@tobyshousemt.org.
