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Journey Home Opens to Expand Access to Immediate Behavioral Health Support
Author: Amber Johnson, Communications Specialist

Journey Home Opens to Expand Access to Immediate Behavioral Health Support

Amber Johnson

Communications Specialist

Many Rivers Whole Health invites community members, partners, and neighbors to an open house on April 24 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to celebrate the opening of Journey Home. Journey Home will open as a crisis receiving facility, expanding access to immediate behavioral health support in Helena and surrounding communities.

Journey Home will officially open April 27 to provide up to 23 hours and 59 minutes of voluntary care for individuals experiencing an acute behavioral health crisis. The facility offers timely assessment, intervention, and connection to ongoing care in a safe, therapeutic environment. Journey Home can quickly accept first responder drop-offs with a "no wrong door" policy.

The opening of Journey Home is the result of collaboration among many community partners, local leaders, and first responders.

“This facility fills a critical gap in our community,” said Drenda Niemann, Health Officer of Lewis and Clark Public Health. “By working together to create a welcoming place where people can receive help at the moment they need it, our community is improving outcomes for individuals and families while easing the burden on other community resources.”

Located at 45 E. 16th St., the facility was purchased by Many Rivers Whole Health from Lewis and Clark County in June 2025. The facility, which has sat dormant since Western Montana Mental Health vacated the property in December 2019, restores a core element of the crisis care continuum: a safe place to go for help.

Key features of Journey Home include:

• Crisis risk assessment, evaluation, and intervention

• 12 recliner chairs for short-term Crisis Receiving services (six crisis stabilization beds to be phased in at a later date)

• Rapid connection to community-based supports

• Coordination with St. Peter’s Health’s Mobile Crisis Response Team, other care providers, and law enforcement

“We know that crises can happen to anyone,” said Sydney Blair, CEO of Many Rivers Whole Health. “Journey Home reflects our commitment to providing dignified, evidence-based care, right when it matters most.”

The April 24 open house will include guided tours, opportunities to meet staff, and information about services. Donations of blankets, clothing, canned goods, toiletries, and cleaning supplies will be accepted during the event or by contacting Many Rivers Whole Health at 406-443-7151.

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