MountainStar Family Relief Nursery preps new La Pine facility; grand opening, ribbon-cutting planned

(Update: Adding video, comments from two MountainStar officials)

La PINE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- MountainStar Family Relief Nursery, a key resource for Central Oregon children and families, is expanding to La Pine next month. 

"MountainStar Family really exists to strengthen families and help keep children safe," Executive Director Kara Tachikawa said Thursday. "We partner with families who are experiencing a lot of stress as they raise young children."

 The organization is expanding to La Pine to increase services.

Program Director Tobiah Brown said, "There's children who are coming in, and they're getting their needs met, their emotional needs, as well as some physical needs. We offer meals here, to our kids when they're in it, like in classrooms."

The nonprofit already has locations in Redmond, Bend, Madras and Prineville. 

This will be MountainStar's fifth location to help fulfill its mission to prevent child abuse and neglect in the community.

The organization works with children in Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties, helping dozens each year. 

Brown said, "Oftentimes it's multiple young children. and so they're usually at different stages of parenting, right? Families with one infant are two different stage of parenting, the families with three kids under three."  

 More than 10,000 Oregon children  were identified as victims of abuse in 2021, according to the non profit.

 MountainStar provides basic needs like diapers, food and clothing. Programs include individualized parent coaching and mental health therapy, for both kids and adults. 

Tachikawa said, "Some of our funding comes from the state, and a lot of our funding comes from grants and direct donations from individuals and businesses. So in order to start our site here in La Pine, it's actually ending up costing us about $1 million total for this project."

There will be a grand opening and ribbon-cutting on Thursday, Nov. 9 at noon.

Here's the rest of the organization's recent announcement:

MountainStar is thrilled to invite the community to celebrate this new location serving children and their families in La Pine. After more than six years of outreach services, this permanent location fulfills MountainStar’s long-standing goal to provide more direct support to La Pine families.

MountainStar gives special thanks to the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners who demonstrated their commitment to South Deschutes County children by allocating funds from the American Rescue Plan Act for this project. This initial funding was critical for this new site and will have a lasting impact on the community.

As MountainStar prepares to open its doors, they are excited to announce that they are hiring for multiple positions.

Tobiah Brown, MountainStar’s Program Director, shares, “If you are passionate about making a positive impact on the lives of children and families in the community, we encourage you to explore employment opportunities with us. And part of what makes our organization so special is our volunteers. We will be inviting community members to join us in our therapeutic classrooms to help nurture children's emotional, physical, and intellectual development in a safe environment.”

Kara Tachikawa, MountainStar’s Executive Director, expresses her enthusiasm about the La Pine expansion.

"We've been working on this project for over a year and are really excited to be opening our doors to the community. Everything we do is connected to child abuse and neglect prevention. Our services are customized to meet the unique needs of each child and their family in our program. Keeping children safe and parents successful is the work we have done in Central Oregon for the past 22 years and work we will continue to do for many years to come.”

For more information about our new La Pine facility, job opportunities, or how you can get involved as a volunteer, please visit our website at mtstar.org.

About MountainStar

MountainStar Family Relief Nursery (mtstar.org) is a local nonprofit that provides child abuse and neglect prevention services for the most vulnerable children and families in Central Oregon. We are the only program in Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook Counties providing therapeutic classrooms, parenting education services, and family support targeted at protecting babies and toddlers who are at significant risk for abuse and neglect. We envision communities that support each parent’s effort to nurture their children’s emotional, physical, and intellectual development in a safe environment.