HELENA — Florence Crittenton celebrated the completion of the residential floor at its Cooney campus facility on Tuesday.
The redesigned and renovated second floor of the historic building will house the non-profit's two residential programs.
Florence Crittenton's residential programs include the Youth Maternity Home and the Recovery Home.
The Recovery Home supports mothers between the ages 18 and 35 who are recovering from substance abuse disorder, the Youth Maternity Home is for mothers between the ages of 12 and 18 and their children.
Executive Director Carrie Krepps says the floor can support up to 14 women and their children and was specially designed to have a home-like feel.
"Our clinical director did a lot of work with the design team talking about trauma and how space affects trauma," Krepps told MTN adding, "I was so impressed about how the entire design team went through that process and really engaged and worked to understand how important that was."
Florence Crittenton invited the community to come and see the remodeled space before the first residents arrive on Thursday.
Once the residents arrive, the floor will be closed to the public to protect the women's privacy in the organization's care.
The remodel of the Cooney Campus has been dubbed Project Sunshine. Florence Crittenton has raised nearly all of its $12 million goal to complete the multiphase project and bring all of its services under one roof.
With the completion of the residential floor and the Child Enrichment Center, work will start on the ground floor. The ground floor will house administration and community service programs.
Florence Crittenton purchased the Cooney Campus in 2021 to bring all of its services under one roof. The organization has been part of the Helena Community for 125 years.
The Cooney building and property have historically been a place that helped the underserved in the Helena community, from its early days as the Miner's Hospital to its more than two decades as the Cooney Convalescent Home.
Krepps noted the history of both the building and Florence Crittenton of helping the Helena community.
"When we signed the buy-sell we started to think what an incredible conjunction of two very important spaces and organzation's that has truly cared for this community and beyond," said Krepps.
To learn more about Florence Crittenton and Project Sunshine visit: https://www.florencecrittenton.org/project-sunshine/.
