SPIRIT News

We're close to 70% of our end of year fundraising goal! With donations and pledges total close to $70,000, we need your help to sustain the Butte SPIRIT Home into the future. There are two weeks left, so make a pledge or donation soon.

While grant funding has enabled the home to become operational, we cannot rely on this funding in the long term, nor can most grants be used to purchase property. Our goal with this end of year fundraiser is to establish an Endowment Fund that will take the place of the reliance on grant funding to make up gaps in our operating budget. Additionally, funds will be used in the procurement of our future Women's Home, a much needed addition to support sober living in Butte! ... See more

Thank you all much for your help in our fundraising efforts on Giving Tuesday! We were successful in raising an additional $17,450 towards our $100,000 goal for the End of the Year Giving Campaign, that puts us at a total of $67,450 in commitments and donations. When the total from the matching funds from Meta is available our webpage will be updated to show these additional funds.

Visit our webpage (in the comments) to track the progress as the holiday season progresses. The Facebook Fundraiser will continue to be open until the end of the year, so please share the link and help us meet our goal! ... See more

The solutions for addiction are found in a personal journey of recovery; paradoxically, one which is not possible in isolation. The Butte SPIRIT Home provides the fertile community environment for seeds of recovery to grow in our Residents. One such man said, “Addiction is a really, really complicated nasty creature. Even though you put [the substances] down you still might be the most miserable human being on the planet. Discipline is still really important. How do you cope with the rest of life? Something I really lost along the way was ‘me’. So, it's nice to be able to be me, even if I'm grumpy today, it's me.”

Please join us in creating environments that support recovery; share the message that recovery is possible, encourage those recovering addicts and alcoholics you encounter along the way, and contribute as you are able to helping the Butte SPIRIT Center grow our community. We have been very fortunate for the tremendous support that our work has received from grantors and donors like you. However helpful for our startup phase, large grantors cannot be leaned on for ongoing operational funds. Our primary goal to raise money for a new Endowment Fund is critical to meeting our operational needs moving forward. This endowment will ensure the sustainability of our organization and will enable us to meet our mission for years to come. Additionally, we are raising funds to support the purchase of a home to be outfitted as a Women's Sober Living Home. If you'd like to learn more about our end of year campaign, visit: https://buttespirit.org/2021/11/28/2021-end-of-year-giving-campaign/

Facebook pays all the processing fees for you, so 100% of your donation goes directly to the nonprofit. ... See more

The Butte SPIRIT Home is a non-profit organization that operates a men's recovery residence in Butte, MT. Butte SPIRIT is licensed by the State of Montana as an ASAM Level 3.1 low intensity residential treatment center. We are seeking to hire their first clinical staff person, a Clinical Director to be licensed as an LAC, which will function in a half time role with a caseload of 7 men who are committed to recovery. See the linked job description for more information, and please share with anyone you know who might be interested:

https://buttespirit.org/2020/03/26/were-hiring/ ... See more

https://mtstandard.com/news/local/recovery-transition-at-the-heart-of-the-butte-spirit-home/article_6fbe32fe-1b16-5b9d-99d8-7fc9cf967770.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

This article from our Executive Directors home state highlights the impacts of the pandemic on populations struggling with substance use disorder, as well as some novel ideas on creating a supportive environment. ... See more

Dear Butte SPIRIT Supporters and Partners,

It is with great joy that we write this update on the progress of the Butte SPIRIT Home. Since our last update in June after acquiring the house, we have hit the following milestones:

1) Furnished the home and made upgrades and repairs inside and out.

A big thank you to the Butte Furniture Bank who provided over half of the furniture. Another big thank you to the many community members who donated items. The home is now fully furnished for up to eight men, including the live-in Assistant Manager.

A big thank you to the dozen or so volunteers who helped with painting, landscaping, furniture moving, and repairs. Thanks to all of your hard work, we have transformed the house from a college rental house to one of the most attractive homes in the neighborhood. You can see a before and after picture of the outside below, as well as some pictures of the interior currently.

A big thank you to McLeod Realtors for helping us site the home (which wasn’t easy) and negotiating for a good price on our behalf.

2) Raised $10,000 on matching grant campaign ($20K Total!)

A big thank you to the dozens of people who donated through Facebook, our website or by check under this matching grant. We were skeptical if we could raise the full $10,000, but with your help we did it in just a little over two months. This was really inspiring.

3) Received a $15,000 grant from the Gianforte Family Foundation and replaced the roof

This was the single biggest expense and upgrade that the home needed. A big thank you to the Gianforte Family Foundation for supporting our project and taking on this expense. A big thank you to Over the Top Roofing for getting us on your schedule during a busy time.

4) Hired our Residence Manager and Assistant Residence Manager

After much searching and many interviews, we have hired our Residence Manager and Assistant Residence Manager, both of whom will be going on the payroll over the next week. We couldn’t be more excited about both of these hires, and they both bring an incredible amount of passion and experience to the project. A big thank you to both Joe and Jim for joining our team.

5) Received our provisional license from the State Department of Health and Human Services as an ASAM (American Society of Addiction Medicine) 3.1 level Recovery Home.

A big thank you to Aune Associates Consulting for helping us navigate this process.

6) Finalized our partnership with CCCS Inc. and the SMART (Southwest Montana Addiction Recovery and Treatment) Program.

A big thank you to CCCS Inc and SMART. They have agreed to help subsidize our staffing costs for the first year and to provide treatment services for the residents. Without them, the home as it exists (well-staffed and state-licensed) would not be possible.

7) Received a $40,000 grant from the Montana Mental Health Trust

A big thank you to the Montana Mental Health Trust for deciding to support our project. We just learned about this last week and it is a huge boost for us. This will cover our Program Director and Assistant Manager for the coming year. Thanks to this grant and others from the Washington Foundation, Gianforte Foundation, Montana Healthcare Foundation, Anaconda Community Foundation, and Western Service Area Authority as well as donations from now over 100 individuals and businesses, we are able to start this home debt-free and on firm financial footing. This allows us to focus our energies on creating an environment that is safe and nourishing and provides access to support and services that will maximize the chances of success for our residents.

Lastly, a big thank you to our board of directors and to everyone who has donated time, money, items, kind words, letters of support, collaboration, or otherwise helped support the project in any way. This would not have been possible without so much help from so many people. It feels great to be able to send out this much thankfulness on the week of Thanksgiving.

We will be hosting an open house Tuesday December 1st from 4-6 pm. During this time, the neighbors, donors, and partners are welcome to come tour the house and meet our managers. Due to COVID, we will not be serving any food or beverages, will require masks and will limit the number of people in the home at any given time. Please message us if you plan to come and your arrival time and we will coordinate from there.

Thank you again and wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season.

Gratefully,

Sean Wisner & Demetrius Fassas
Butte SPIRIT Co-Founders ... See more

Check out this podcast interview with Butte SPIRIT Co-Founder Demetrius Fassas on Montana Peer Network's Recovery Talks Podcast on recovery, Peer Support, and Butte SPIRIT Center.

There has been such a fabulous outpouring of financial and in-kind support over the past month and a half, and we want to thank you all so much! A number of donations have come in outside of the Facebook Fundraiser, and WE HAVE REACHED OUR $10,000 GOAL!! We've got a roof replacement incoming from our friends at Over The Top Roofing, and we're grateful for all of the donors that have made this affordable for our organization. There are still a few things that we're lacking inside the home, so if you'd like to contribute to the fundraiser, THERE ARE 12 DAYS LEFT!

We've also updated the physical donation needs that we still have on buttespirit.org, or you can see below for the list:

-Butcher's Block table
-Refrigerator
-Stove
-2x Full Size Bed Frames
-Twin Size Bunk Beds
-Sample/Trial Size Toiletries
-Couch
-2x Reclining Chair
-Folding Table
-Lawn Trimmer
-2x Small Desks
-6x Small Desk Chairs
-2x Night Stands
-Locking Medicine Cabinet
-Board Games, Playing Cards, etc. ... See more

After an overwhelmingly positive response from the community, our sponsor has generously upped their ante and has now committed to matching up to $10,000 in donations that we receive before September 30th. ... See more

We're very excited to be one huge step closer to bringing a high quality Recovery Home to Butte!

See our website for more information about how you can get involved at http://buttespirit.org/our-homes/ ... See more

Isolation is a common thread in the lives of addicts and alcoholics, and social distancing has had a pronounced effect on many of us. This article is a great reminder that you never have to be alone.

We're Hiring! Check out our job description for a Recovery Residence Manager.

http://buttespirit.org/2020/03/26/were-hiring/

Send us a direct message or email us at info@buttespirit.org to learn more! ... See more

Great article from the New York Times regarding the efficacy of 12-Step programs like AA. If you need help getting to a meeting during this time of increased isolation, there are many online resources, and even local meetings in Butte being held online. Send us a message for more information.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/11/upshot/alcoholics-anonymous-new-evidence.html ... See more

Butte SPIRIT Center co-founder gives a podcast interview on his journey through addiction and into recovery.

Thank you to NBC Montana and the MT Standard for helping to educate the community about our project and the need for after care and support for all our friends, neighbors and relatives in recovery.

As a group of volunteer board members, we're committed to the course ahead of us. The next big step will be hiring a director that can navigate through the months ahead as we choose a site for the home. If you are interested in learning more, or helping out along the path, please visit our website at buttespirit.org

Huge thanks to The Montana Standard for following our journey towards providing an opportunity for an expanded recovery community in Butte. Also, thanks to Matt Boyle and KBMF 102.5 FM Butte America Radio for airing an interview with Demetrius and Sean a few weeks ago. ... See more

Thanks to Matthew Boyle for taking some time to learn about this organization and share our vision.

Effective transitional housing for addiction recovery is a HUGE area of need in Butte. I'm grateful to the volunteer team that's been working hard to bring this service to life, and immesely grateful to those that have helped us raise close to $200,000 so far. Butte SPIRIT will offer safe and supportive housing, with solid accountability and access to services for those recovering from substance abuse. Before we can attain our state endorsement at a Substance Use Disorder provider, we must have a physical location for the sober house, and we're hoping to do it without major debt! Please donate to help us to purchase a house for our peer supported recovery community. ... See more