Latest / The LIFTS Podcast / What Does It Take To Make Ends Meet? - With Rylee Andrews of the Butte 4-C's

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What Does It Take To Make Ends Meet? - With Rylee Andrews of the Butte 4-C's · The LIFTS Podcast

• 0:09
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Welcome to season six of our List podcast, where we talk about what it's like to give birth, to raise and nurture our babies and toddlers in Montana, and what it looks like to care for ourselves in this tumultuous season.
• 0:20
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: I'm Gwyneth Hyndman, storytelling coordinator for Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies, the Montana Coalition, and I'm so excited to share this space with mothers, fathers, caregivers, and providers who will speak on the beautiful chaos of the zero to three years
• 0:42
  Gwyneth Hyndman: Hi, everyone.
• 0:42
  Gwyneth Hyndman: On today's Lifts podcast, we are gonna be talking to Rylee Andrews, and she's a maternal support professional with the Butte Four C's.
• 0:50
  Gwyneth Hyndman: And she's gonna be speaking on her role in coming alongside families with young children and what she's seeing in households in the seven counties that she serves in Southwest Montana, especially as costs have risen in the last six months.
• 1:05
  Gwyneth Hyndman: This is gas, groceries, diapers and changes to healthcare accessibility, and how this is impacting parents making decisions right now on what to prioritize.
• 1:15
  Gwyneth Hyndman: And she's gonna give you a little overview as what the Butte Four C's is working towards in 2026.
• 1:21
  Gwyneth Hyndman: And some of you may be aware that this is a pretty long-standing nonprofit that formed in 1974, so more than 50 years ago.
• 1:30
  Gwyneth Hyndman: And it's put a lot of thought and intention into how it has supported rural and urban families over the decades through home visiting childcare training and education, among many other programs.
• 1:41
  Gwyneth Hyndman: It had to pivot and regroup a bit in 2024 with changes to funding, but it's really fought hard to stay true to that mission of empowering families and childcare professionals through programs that promote healthy child development.
• 1:55
  Gwyneth Hyndman: So Riley, can you, in your own words, tell us about the Butte Four C's and what needs that you meet?
• 2:04
  Rylee Andrews: The main goal here at the Butte Four C's really just supporting children, families, and the early childhood workforce.
• 2:11
  Rylee Andrews: We started as a childcare resource and referral agency.
• 2:14
  Rylee Andrews: But over the past 50 years, our work has grown and changed very significantly.
• 2:21
  Rylee Andrews: We meet a really wide range of needs.
• 2:24
  Rylee Andrews: We offer parenting support, home visiting services child safety and maltreatment prevention, supervised visitation, peer support connections to other community resources.
• 2:36
  Rylee Andrews: And on top of all that, we also provide training and professional development for childcare providers across the State of Montana.
• 2:44
  Rylee Andrews: But really at the heart of all this our main thing is prevention and early support.
• 2:50
  Rylee Andrews: We want to help families build strong foundations and connect them with resources really before challenges become crisises.
• 2:59
  Rylee Andrews: And our reach goes well beyond Butte-Silver Bow.
• 3:02
  Rylee Andrews: We provide direct family services across seven counties in Montana: Silver Bow, Deer Lodge, Powell, Granite, Jefferson, Madison, and Beaverhead.
• 3:13
  Rylee Andrews: And then we also have our Child and Adult Care Food Program CACFP, which we serve childcare providers in that really across the State of Montana.
• 3:24
  Rylee Andrews: We travel pretty far for that.
• 3:27
  Rylee Andrews: And same with our childcare provider training and professional development.
• 3:32
  Rylee Andrews: We offer statewide trainings for childcare providers.
• 3:36
  Rylee Andrews: So whether that be in person, Zoom.
• 3:38
  Rylee Andrews: But really just making sure no one gets forgotten about.
• 3:41
  Rylee Andrews: And collaboration is a really big part of our impact at the Butte Four C's.
• 3:46
  Rylee Andrews: We work really closely with health departments Child and Family Services, Head Start, WIC medical clinics, hospitals, early intervention programs so that families don't have to navigate these systems alone, 'cause it can be very overwhelming especially when you don't even know where to begin.
• 4:06
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: What does funding look like right now for the Butte 4Cs?
• 4:11
  Rylee Andrews: As a nonprofit, our funding is pretty diversified.
• 4:15
  Rylee Andrews: We receive government grants and contracts tied to specific programs and services.
• 4:20
  Rylee Andrews: But we're also fortunate enough to have some private funding that supports, Programs such as providing training to our childcare providers our 406 Healthy Start program that I work in all of that.
• 4:33
  Rylee Andrews: But ultimately, we're just a family support, early childhood prevention, and community partnership organization.
• 4:40
  Rylee Andrews: Our goal is just to strengthen families and support healthy childhood development and just really connect families to resources and relationships that will help them and their kiddos thrive
• 4:51
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Yeah.
• 4:51
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: That's wonderful.
• 4:52
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Can you tell me a little bit about the demographic you serve?
• 4:57
  Rylee Andrews: Yeah, so we serve a pretty broad population between children, parents, caregivers, just families as a whole.
• 5:05
  Rylee Andrews: At the 4 C's we serve from expecting parents to families with young children to families involved with child welfare services.
• 5:13
  Rylee Andrews: And then just simply anyone that needs support.
• 5:17
  Rylee Andrews: Because our services extend across such a broad section of Montana we serve families from different communities, backgrounds, circumstances go other places and things are a little bit different than what you're used to.
• 5:33
  Rylee Andrews: And some families just need help finding childcare or filling out a Best Beginnings application to get childcare assistance, or they just need parenting support.
• 5:42
  Rylee Andrews: And others might just be experiencing challenges such as financial stress that's a really big one right now or involvement with the child welfare system.
• 5:50
  Rylee Andrews: We have programs here that help families navigate the child welfare system which is great because that can be a very scary and difficult thing to navigate.
• 6:01
  Rylee Andrews: And the one thing that is really big to us here at the 4 C's families don't have to be in crisis to benefit from our services.
• 6:09
  Rylee Andrews: We just meet families where they are try to provide support early.
• 6:13
  Rylee Andrews: Just helping them build confidence that they can do this whole parenting thing.
• 6:18
  Rylee Andrews: Connect them with resources that will help them build their little village.
• 6:22
  Rylee Andrews: Some people just really don't have family or friends that they can rely on, so it's really important to help these families build their own little village 'cause it definitely takes a village, To raise a child or children.
• 6:36
  Rylee Andrews: But really our population it is diverse but the end goal's the same.
• 6:42
  Rylee Andrews: We just want every child to have the opportunity to grow up safe, healthy and give parents the resources, education that they can help their child thrive.
• 6:53
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: I was just thinking about some of the challenges in reaching everyone in that urban area and then in that rural area as well too
• 7:04
  Rylee Andrews: Honestly, the word of mouth piece is huge just because even me if I had a friend or family member that was like, "Hey, I participated in this and it was great," I'd be a lot more apt to do it than just to see a flyer.
• 7:13
  Rylee Andrews: 'Cause these things can be scary sometimes, and sometimes you just need to know that people have had success doing it in the past, and people that you know and are close to.
• 7:23
  Rylee Andrews: Yeah
• 7:25
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: How does word of mouth, how does that actually look these days?
• 7:28
  Rylee Andrews: I think social media plays a really big role.
• 7:31
  Rylee Andrews: I've had some families that have participated in 406 Healthy Start or Meals for Moms.
• 7:37
  Rylee Andrews: After they do one visit or get their meals they'll go and share our post and say, "This is a great program.
• 7:43
  Rylee Andrews: Sign up." So that helps.
• 7:45
  Rylee Andrews: And then I have a lot of moms that I work with that just text me, and they're like, "Hey, my friend's pregnant.
• 7:50
  Rylee Andrews: Can I give her your contact information?" And I'm like, "Yes, please do." So yeah, it's just really all the things social media, relationships, all of that
• 8:01
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: As a maternal support professional, what is your role within the Butte Four C's?
• 8:08
  Rylee Andrews: I have a very fun role.
• 8:10
  Rylee Andrews: So I work with families during pregnancy and early parenthood, essentially through baby's first year of life.
• 8:18
  Rylee Andrews: And that can be a very exciting but also very overwhelming time for families.
• 8:23
  Rylee Andrews: And when I'm meeting with families, I just provide education, encouragement, resources one-on-one support to just help families feel confident in their role as parents and be prepared for challenges that come with pregnancy and raising kiddos.
• 8:39
  Rylee Andrews: And another big part of my role as a maternal support professional is just connecting families to resources kinda like we talked about, helping them build that village because the more people in your corner always the better.
• 8:52
  Rylee Andrews: And sometimes that just means helping a family access healthcare or childcare food assistance, housing assistance.
• 8:59
  Rylee Andrews: All those things those systems can be incredibly difficult to navigate, especially when you're already very stressed and almost in crisis mode.
• 9:08
  Rylee Andrews: Everything, even just looking at the application, your head just starts spinning.
• 9:13
  Rylee Andrews: So just being able to sit down with these families and just say, "We're gonna get th- through this together.
• 9:18
  Rylee Andrews: Let me help you," that's been huge in my role.
• 9:22
  Rylee Andrews: And now more than ever, families are needing to apply for additional support SNAP, childcare assistance, housing assistance, all of those things.
• 9:31
  Rylee Andrews: And sometimes I work with families that don't qualify for any assistance but still I get to just be there, be a listening ear.
• 9:40
  Rylee Andrews: I have lived experiences, sometimes just that mom-to-mom support.
• 9:44
  Rylee Andrews: And just reminding families that they don't have to do this alone.
• 9:48
  Rylee Andrews: So that's kinda my role in a nutshell just kinda helping families get a strong start.
• 9:56
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Yeah.
• 9:57
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: So tell me about how you got into this role.
• 9:59
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: What's your background?
• 10:01
  Rylee Andrews: So I actually started with the Butte Four C's as an eligibility specialist.
• 10:07
  Rylee Andrews: So I was working cases for the Best Beginnings Child Care Scholarship.
• 10:11
  Rylee Andrews: But when we lost that contract in December of 2024 the Butte Four C's had received state funding for the universally offered home visiting program.
• 10:20
  Rylee Andrews: So I kinda just rolled into that.
• 10:22
  Rylee Andrews: They just thought I'd be a good fit because I have the mom experience.
• 10:27
  Rylee Andrews: I worked in childcare for 10 years, so I knew a lot about taking care of infants all of that.
• 10:32
  Rylee Andrews: So that kinda just worked well timing wise.
• 10:35
  Rylee Andrews: I was nervous, but I didn't know that I would fall in love with it like I have.
• 10:39
  Rylee Andrews: It's been great.
• 10:40
  Rylee Andrews: And a- as a mom of three young kiddos myself, I was just drawn to the opportunity to support families during pregnancy and those overwhelming moments of parenthood.
• 10:51
  Rylee Andrews: 'Cause I bring both lived experience and professional training to my work.
• 10:55
  Rylee Andrews: I know firsthand that becoming a parent can be beautiful, challenging, exhausting, all the things at once.
• 11:02
  Rylee Andrews: But my personal experience, I feel, helps me connect with families in a really real way.
• 11:07
  Rylee Andrews: My goal is just to provide support that's not judgmental and give them practical tools to support in their journey or to succeed in their journey of parenthood.
• 11:16
  Rylee Andrews: And then the funding for the universally offered home visiting program ended in March of 2025.
• 11:22
  Rylee Andrews: But by that point, we had really seen just how much of a need there was for a support like that for new mamas.
• 11:29
  Rylee Andrews: So we didn't wanna see that disappear, so we worked really hard to secure funding that would allow us to continue providing that home visiting model.
• 11:38
  Rylee Andrews: And we were fortunate enough to secure that funding.
• 11:42
  Rylee Andrews: So now we call the program 406 Healthy Start.
• 11:44
  Rylee Andrews: But so the funding and the program name kinda changed, but we still have the same commitment to supporting families through pregnancy and early parenthood.
• 11:54
  Rylee Andrews: And I just feel really fortunate to be able to use my own lived experience as a mom and combine it with training just to support other families because, like I've said, I know firsthand how challenging, exhausting being a parent can be.
• 12:09
  Rylee Andrews: So it makes this work just really meaningful to me and just meeting families where they're at and building relationships.
• 12:15
  Rylee Andrews: It's just great.
• 12:17
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Riley, what is your why in doing what you do?
• 12:21
  Rylee Andrews: So at the end of the day my why I do this role is pretty simple.
• 12:26
  Rylee Andrews: I just want families to feel less alone.
• 12:29
  Rylee Andrews: If I can help a parent feel more confident help families get a stronger start, then I know I did my job for the day.
• 12:36
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Yeah.
• 12:37
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: And Riley, but talked about lived experience as a mom, and is there I guess emotions or scenes from your time in motherhood of three that you're able to go back to and say, "Aha, I remember what this felt like," when you're with other moms?
• 12:56
  Rylee Andrews: All the time.
• 12:57
  Rylee Andrews: A- almost every time I meet with a mom, I'm like, "Oh, I remember that," and all the stress I felt during that time.
• 13:04
  Rylee Andrews: And no, all the time I have aha moments, and I'm like, "I do remember those days."
• 13:12
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Does it sometimes for them, is it a relief to know...
• 13:15
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: and I think we all know sometimes that this is a common thing.
• 13:19
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: We're told it's common, to actually have someone else remember their story to
• 13:24
  Rylee Andrews: Yeah.
• 13:25
  Rylee Andrews: Sometimes and just say, "I've been there, I lived it, and I got through it." Yeah, I think that lived experience plays a huge role in my ability to successfully do my role with these families
• 13:40
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: right now in the area you cover, what are you seeing as far as needs?
• 13:44
  Rylee Andrews: I think one of the biggest things that I'm seeing right now is just the impact of overall financial stress on families.
• 13:53
  Rylee Andrews: It's not necessarily one single expense.
• 13:57
  Rylee Andrews: It's just that everything has gotten more expensive very quickly all at once groceries, utilities, gas, housing, childcare.
• 14:05
  Rylee Andrews: And families are having to make really hard decisions about where they're gonna put their money and what they're gonna go without.
• 14:13
  Rylee Andrews: And when they're already living on a tight budget, there isn't really much room to budge and move things around.
• 14:19
  Rylee Andrews: So sometimes they're just buying less nutritious food putting off medical appointments 'cause they don't have health insurance or they can't afford the gas to get there.
• 14:28
  Rylee Andrews: It's all of these things.
• 14:30
  Rylee Andrews: Delaying something for their child, delaying appointments for themselves.
• 14:34
  Rylee Andrews: So I think it's just overall just the financial aspect.
• 14:39
  Rylee Andrews: But that's also boiling down to them limiting their resources to things that support their overall wellbeing, such as medical appointments and eating healthy foods.
• 14:49
  Rylee Andrews: And something that has really stood out to me I've been seeing an increase in Edinburgh Postnatal Depression scores.
• 14:57
  Rylee Andrews: I do administer those when I'm meeting with families.
• 15:00
  Rylee Andrews: There have been some higher scores lately compared to six months ago.
• 15:06
  Rylee Andrews: And I just think that's important because we're not only talking about financial hardship like in dollars and cents, but we're seeing the emotional impact that this stress is having on families.
• 15:18
  Rylee Andrews: Parents are worried about how they're gonna pay their rent, buy groceries and often their own needs just become the first thing to go as sad as it sounds.
• 15:25
  Rylee Andrews: And, but I don't like that because we have to take care of ourselves before we can take care of anyone else.
• 15:32
  Rylee Andrews: I'm a big believer in that.
• 15:33
  Rylee Andrews: It just makes things really hard.
• 15:35
  Rylee Andrews: And parents can only carry so much.
• 15:37
  Rylee Andrews: When you're constantly making trade-offs facing uncertainty, it affects your mental health, your stress level the whole family as a whole.
• 15:45
  Rylee Andrews: So when I think about what families need right now, it- it's not just one particular resource.
• 15:51
  Rylee Andrews: I think they just need stability.
• 15:53
  Rylee Andrews: They need access to healthy foods, housing, healthcare, mental health support.
• 15:58
  Rylee Andrews: And they need those supports without having to choose between taking care of themselves and taking care of their children.
• 16:05
  Rylee Andrews: I am seeing parents and families be incredibly resourceful.
• 16:09
  Rylee Andrews: They are doing everything they can to make ends meet but that doesn't mean that they're not struggling.
• 16:15
  Rylee Andrews: Sometimes they're just sacrificing their own needs to make sure that their children's needs are met.
• 16:20
  Rylee Andrews: So it's been tough
• 16:22
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Yeah.
• 16:22
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Riley, can you talk about that test a little bit
• 16:25
  Rylee Andrews: yeah.
• 16:25
  Rylee Andrews: In short, it's the EPDS.
• 16:27
  Rylee Andrews: And it is administered typically at well-child visits when they bring kiddo in at their six-week follow-up after delivering baby.
• 16:35
  Rylee Andrews: But we administer them it is part of our funding contract.
• 16:40
  Rylee Andrews: And I try to administer them at every visit, especially if I'm seeing higher scores just to kinda monitor.
• 16:48
  Rylee Andrews: And with those scores it just asks questions like, do you still feel excited about doing things, getting out of the house?
• 16:57
  Rylee Andrews: In simpler terms, do you constantly feel anxious?
• 17:00
  Rylee Andrews: Things like that.
• 17:01
  Rylee Andrews: Have you ever thought about harming yourself?
• 17:02
  Rylee Andrews: Are you struggling to sleep?
• 17:04
  Rylee Andrews: Have you been crying a lot?
• 17:06
  Rylee Andrews: And then with those scores we just kinda total them up.
• 17:10
  Rylee Andrews: We watch them.
• 17:10
  Rylee Andrews: If I see a high score we definitely have a conversation.
• 17:14
  Rylee Andrews: I refer them to mental health services, tell them to follow up with their primary.
• 17:18
  Rylee Andrews: But it's just been interesting comparing the scores from like back in January to now.
• 17:25
  Rylee Andrews: I'm a huge data person.
• 17:27
  Rylee Andrews: Numbers speak very loudly to me.
• 17:29
  Rylee Andrews: So just comparing those numbers and seeing that there is a trend in higher scores currently than there was six months ago it's just been an eye-opener
• 17:39
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: when think about what these scores indicate, higher depression, higher levels of anxiety, how would that, present in a household?
• 17:51
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Like, how does that look day to day for a mom and dad?
• 17:55
  Rylee Andrews: I have a lot of families that, like I was working with one family and she's like, "Every time I'm like walking from the couch to the kitchen with the baby I have this terrifying feeling that I'm going to drop the baby." And she's like, "I just constantly feel anxious.
• 18:12
  Rylee Andrews: I don't even wanna drive anymore." So I think it's just like seeing those signs.
• 18:18
  Rylee Andrews: Some of the dads are present when I'm meeting with these families.
• 18:21
  Rylee Andrews: And I've had them like chime in and they're like, "Yeah, like I don't know, it's just kinda scary.
• 18:27
  Rylee Andrews: Like this isn't my wife.
• 18:28
  Rylee Andrews: So we just kinda have those conversations.
• 18:30
  Rylee Andrews: And I just encourage these families to seek support accept help, meals, childcare if you have family that's willing to step in and help out.
• 18:40
  Rylee Andrews: That is huge.
• 18:41
  Rylee Andrews: I just really encourage families to utilize their resources.
• 18:46
  Rylee Andrews: As humans and moms accepting help is a very difficult thing to do 'cause we just wanna prove that we can do it on our own.
• 18:54
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Yeah
• 18:54
  Rylee Andrews: but once we let someone help, it's like this big weight off of our shoulders and it's "Why didn't I do this months or years ago?"
• 19:03
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Does this test go to both mom and dad in the family?
• 19:08
  Rylee Andrews: So no, actually I only administer it on moms.
• 19:12
  Rylee Andrews: I do talk about postpartum in fathers.
• 19:16
  Rylee Andrews: It's definitely a real thing.
• 19:17
  Rylee Andrews: Their lives also just changed and now they're taking care of mom and baby, and so and I think a lot of the times dads often just get brushed under the rug.
• 19:26
  Rylee Andrews: Everyone's so focused on mom and baby.
• 19:28
  Rylee Andrews: So I do talk about it.
• 19:30
  Rylee Andrews: I ask how dad's feeling.
• 19:32
  Rylee Andrews: I check in.
• 19:33
  Rylee Andrews: But I don't personally administer anything to fathers
• 19:38
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: I think we've been talking about, one of the stress alleviators is this program for Moms.
• 19:47
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: And can you tell me...
• 19:49
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: I love the story about what that does, where it...
• 19:52
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: what needs this meets, and then how this program came about.
• 19:57
  Rylee Andrews: Yeah.
• 19:57
  Rylee Andrews: Meals for Mom came through the generosity of an anonymous donor who actually approached us here at the Butte Four C's with a super specific desire which was to just support new moms during those first weeks at home with the baby.
• 20:11
  Rylee Andrews: The donor recognized that welcoming a new baby is an exciting time, but it can also be exhausting and overwhelming.
• 20:19
  Rylee Andrews: And something as basic as planning, shopping for, preparing a meal can become just another thing that a family has to manage while they're just trying to get into this new routine with their baby.
• 20:31
  Rylee Andrews: They're probably not sleeping much.
• 20:33
  Rylee Andrews: Things are just exhausting.
• 20:35
  Rylee Andrews: So the idea behind it was just to provide a simple, practical form of support which was making sure moms and their families have nourishing meals available while they focus on their new baby, recovery, and adjusting to life at home.
• 20:49
  Rylee Andrews: And through the donor's support, we at the Butte Four C's serve approximately 12 families each month.
• 20:57
  Rylee Andrews: This program just launched in January of 2026.
• 21:01
  Rylee Andrews: So in the last six months we've delivered 365 meals to local families through the program.
• 21:08
  Rylee Andrews: The intention is just really at the heart of the program to take care of moms during a very vulnerable time when so much attention naturally shifts to the new baby.
• 21:18
  Rylee Andrews: I feel like during pregnancy everyone's all about the mom, and then baby comes and everyone's like, "Baby baby," 'cause we all love babies.
• 21:25
  Rylee Andrews: So they just wanted these new moms and families to know that their community sees them, values them and recognizes that the parents need support, too.
• 21:35
  Rylee Andrews: And it's...
• 21:36
  Rylee Andrews: Meals for Moms really is just a great example of how a donor's generosity can just meet a very tangible need especially during times when families are in financial crisis.
• 21:50
  Rylee Andrews: So five meals is what families get.
• 21:52
  Rylee Andrews: It's a one-time deal.
• 21:54
  Rylee Andrews: But that's five dinners that families don't have to cook.
• 21:57
  Rylee Andrews: So it is a...
• 21:59
  Rylee Andrews: It seems like a small thing, but for a family bringing home a new baby, it just means one less worry, a little more time together bonding as a family and just letting them know that they have a community supporting them.
• 22:11
  Rylee Andrews: And with Meals for Moms, when I deliver the meals, I do bring a flyer for home visiting services.
• 22:18
  Rylee Andrews: And we have had- 26 of our, I think, 75 families enroll in home visiting through Meals for Moms.
• 22:27
  Rylee Andrews: So that's just 26 more families that are getting that additional support which is huge.
• 22:32
  Rylee Andrews: We just wanna wrap these families in all the supports that we can.
• 22:36
  Rylee Andrews: So that's kinda Meals for Moms in a nutshell.
• 22:40
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Wow.
• 22:40
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: When you shared kind of Meals for Moms with...
• 22:41
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: 'Cause this is just Southwest Montana.
• 22:45
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: and when you've shared sort of what Meals for Moms does with other organizations outside that area, is the hope maybe that this might even s- this feels like a great program to have across Montana.
• 23:01
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Is it, has there been interest in incorporating this into other counties by other groups?
• 23:09
  Rylee Andrews: I've had many people ask that question.
• 23:11
  Rylee Andrews: I think it would be fabulous if we could offer it to every family.
• 23:16
  Rylee Andrews: All families need support.
• 23:18
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: that's amazing to when you're in that kinda almost like triage time especially if you have other kids at home, too, if this isn't, your first.
• 23:27
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: There's so much excitement with
• 23:29
  Rylee Andrews: The first baby.
• 23:31
  Rylee Andrews: Yep.
• 23:31
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: After that, it's just like this collective decision that maybe as a mom or as a family you, you can handle it from now.
• 23:39
  Rylee Andrews: Yeah, everyone thinks you have it all together, you're a pro now, and yeah.
• 23:43
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: it's harder,
• 23:44
  Rylee Andrews: it is, 'cause now you have two kiddos to care for.
• 23:47
  Rylee Andrews: Yes.
• 23:49
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: So right now, you talked a little bit on what you're seeing in the homes and with families and what they're feeling and thinking and some of their stressors.
• 23:59
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: But right now, just for you in your role, what are some of the challenges that you're seeing a home visitor and maternal support professional in 2026, moving fast into 2027?
• 24:11
  Rylee Andrews: I know, it's crazy.
• 24:12
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Yeah
• 24:13
  Rylee Andrews: Honestly, one of the biggest challenges is continuing to secure funding to keep these programs going and meet the growing needs of families.
• 24:23
  Rylee Andrews: Like a lot of nonprofits, we're always looking ahead and asking like, "How do we keep this going?" Because just because our funding can change, it doesn't mean that the need for services goes away.
• 24:36
  Rylee Andrews: So we also just want to be able to grow when we see a need in the community rather than turn families away or limit services, connections to resources, all of that because the funding isn't there.
• 24:47
  Rylee Andrews: A big focus for us all the time year-round is just finding new grants, building partnerships connecting with donors.
• 24:55
  Rylee Andrews: We do a lot of outreach events just partner with local organizations who vouch for us and say, "No, this work is so important.
• 25:02
  Rylee Andrews: We need to keep it going." And at the end of the day, the challenge that we have is just making sure that we have the resources and financial stability to keep the resources to show up for these families whether it's helping a new mom or supporting a parent who's struggling just all of those things.
• 25:19
  Rylee Andrews: We just need to keep that funding coming so that we can keep wrapping these families in services.
• 25:26
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Riley, is there a sort of an aspect of your work or an aspect of what you're seeing right now day to day that gives you hope, especially
• 25:36
  Rylee Andrews: Yeah, I, my caseload for families that I'm working with it's higher than it's ever been.
• 25:42
  Rylee Andrews: So we're continuing to see this need and organizations that we're collaborating with all of that I think they're seeing that the need is absolutely there.
• 25:52
  Rylee Andrews: I think just continuing to show the numbers, show what we're doing for these families is huge just to keep that funding coming.
• 26:02
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Yeah.
• 26:03
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Now if someone wanted to get connected to Meals for Mom or to get connected to any of the Butte 4C services, do they go about doing that?
• 26:17
  Rylee Andrews: So our website shows all of our services.
• 26:21
  Rylee Andrews: You can see pictures of our whole team here.
• 26:23
  Rylee Andrews: Check it out, it's great.
• 26:24
  Rylee Andrews: And that's just buttefourcs.org.
• 26:26
  Rylee Andrews: And then for Meals for Moms we have flyers we have a link that links to a Microsoft Forms that just asks name, due date county, simple information like that, that comes straight to me once they submit it, and then I reach out to them.
• 26:42
  Rylee Andrews: If they're still expecting, I just say, "Congratulations.
• 26:45
  Rylee Andrews: I'll follow up as your due date gets closer." But if they've already delivered I basically say, "Let's pick a time and a day and get you some meals as soon as we can." That's kinda how you sign up for Meals for Moms.
• 26:56
  Rylee Andrews: And you can find all of that information on our social, or on our website, and we have a Facebook page as well, just Butte Four Cs.
• 27:04
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Okay.
• 27:04
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: And is there any referral process needed to be part of the home visiting program that you do?
• 27:12
  Rylee Andrews: Nope.
• 27:12
  Rylee Andrews: All families qualify as long as they are pregnant or have a child under a year old for the 406 Healthy Start program.
• 27:20
  Rylee Andrews: No income guidelines, nothing like that.
• 27:23
  Rylee Andrews: As long as they're in our service county and meet those other requirements, then we're gonna get them help.
• 27:30
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Wonderful.
• 27:30
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Wonderful.
• 27:31
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Riley, I know you have...
• 27:33
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: so this is, you said it's busier than ever right now for you right now.
• 27:36
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: What's your idea behind that?
• 27:39
  Rylee Andrews: I really think it comes back to just families are in crisis over cost of living day to day.
• 27:46
  Rylee Andrews: And when I meet with families, I bring them diapers, wipes books for baby.
• 27:51
  Rylee Andrews: I just try to bring little things.
• 27:54
  Rylee Andrews: a pack of diapers that's $8, $10.
• 27:56
  Rylee Andrews: That's off of their plate.
• 27:58
  Rylee Andrews: Anything helps.
• 28:00
  Rylee Andrews: Take one less thing off of these families.
• 28:02
  Rylee Andrews: And also just getting them, helping them navigate that SNAP application.
• 28:06
  Rylee Andrews: That can get them a couple of hundred dollars a month for food.
• 28:09
  Rylee Andrews: Just really I think families are in crisis and just trying to figure out how to survive.
• 28:14
  Rylee Andrews: So by participating in 406 Healthy Start I'm helping them just navigate this challenging time.
• 28:22
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Yeah.
• 28:22
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Wonderful.
• 28:23
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Riley, is there any aspect of what we've talked about that you'd wanna just expand on?
• 28:32
  Rylee Andrews: The one thing that really stands out about the Butte Four C's is just how many different ways we support families often during some of the most vulnerable and difficult times of their lives.
• 28:42
  Rylee Andrews: A lot of people know us for one program here or there but don't realize just how much we do and have to offer for families with kiddos of all ages, zero to 18.
• 28:53
  Rylee Andrews: Just from supporting new parents, strengthening families helping childcare providers that are taking care of our most vulnerable population while we're working to pay the bills.
• 29:03
  Rylee Andrews: Just all of these things just fall into one category.
• 29:08
  Rylee Andrews: And really just strengthening families strengthening our early childhood workforce and helping these littles that are our future thrive and grow and be healthy and successful
• 29:21
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Thank you, Riley.
• 29:21
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: That was beautiful The Lifts podcast is hosted by Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies, the Montana Coalition, a nonprofit organization out of Helena, Montana dedicated to the health and wellbeing of families expecting and raising little ones.
• 29:38
  Gwyneth Hyndman - HMHB: Opinions and views expressed in these interviews do not necessarily represent the views expressed by HMHB as an organization.
• 29:47
  Gwyneth Hyndman, HMHB-MT: If you have a topic or a story you would love to see covered on our podcast, or if you have any feedback on a podcast that has aired, you can contact me at gwyneth@hmhb-mt.org.
• 29:59
  Gwyneth Hyndman, HMHB-MT: You can also go right to our website at hmhb-mt.org.
• 30:06
  Gwyneth Hyndman, HMHB-MT: We look forward to hearing from you