Mission Mountain Enterprises serves clients for 40 years
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
RONAN — It all started with spuds and a kitchen.
Forty years later, Mission Mountain Enterprises is still working to provide a better quality of life and greater independence for people with disabilities.
While it’s true the organization delivered baked potatoes to businesses in the early years, the need for local comprehensive services was born from a dissatisfaction with overcrowded institutions in the early 1970s, according to Graydon “Brodie” Moll, CEO of Mission Mountain Enterprises, and a county-wide center was created offering services to “special citizens” in October 1975.
Currently the program offers individualized services and support based on specific needs for about 55 individuals. A staff of 125 offers two-to-one supervision round the clock for clients who live in four group homes between Polson and Ronan.
The program also has activity centers in both towns.
Many MME clients have acquired the skills to live independently in apartments and hold jobs in the community, but all need some level of support — even if it just means getting a ride to medical appointments.
The needs of individuals are “all different, depending on skill level,” Moll explained. While the original goal was to “get out of a big institution,” Moll said, now the push is to get more involved in community.
“The thing that is rewarding about it is that it not only gives a bunch of people the opportunity to grow in their own personal life, move into an apartment and get jobs as they become more independent, but it’s also good for the community,” Moll explained, because it’s fulfilling for employers to be involved with job-specific training of Mission Mountain Enterprises clients. “We’re looking for ways to pair people together.”
Because many of the clients have both complex physical problems and syndromes — and many have suffered some level of abuse — MME has a psychiatry program out of Anaconda that monitors clients monthly, plus a staff nurse in each town.
“Part of our goal is reducing medications, and making sure clients get the right dosages,” Moll said. When a client can be leveled off certain medications, or given the right medications, they have a much greater quality of life, he explained.
Funding comes from Federal and State Medicaid dollars, room and board from clients to help offset costs of mortgages, utilities and food; and two thrift stores.
Twice but Nice in Ronan and Nifty Thrifty in Polson bring in about $300,000 annually to augment the budget.
“(The thrift stores) really provide a service,” Moll said. “A lot of people are really reliant on them. They can’t afford to go shopping or start households.”
The stores also work cooperatively with peer organization, SAFE Harbor, offering vouchers for items such as clothing and dishes.
Recently Glacier Bank gave MME a storefront next to Ronan’s Twice but Nice store. The building has been remodeled to provide extra space for bigger items, such as furniture.
“If we can start selling larger-dollar items, that will help our business a lot,” Moll said.
Looking forward, Moll said the biggest challenge MME faces is a growing, aging work force.
“People are living longer with disabilities,” Moll said. “We want to give them an opportunity to live on their own, but we have to make sure there is some kind of safety net.”
Moll said the organization will continue to promote community integration and capitalize on work opportunities for their clients while offering assistance and coaching — making the MME clients “probably more reliable than some people,” Moll said. “The good news is we are putting people with disabilities to work.”
Celebrate Mission Mountain Enterprises’ 40th anniversary at an open house
Thursday, Nov. 5
at the Ronan Community Center from 4-7 p.m.
A program begins at 5 p.m.
