'Care International' cited in letter opposing Dwyer plan
Top: A rendering shows what had been proposed by the Housing Company as a 24-unit senior housing complex to be built on the property of the former W.K. Dwyer Elementary School. Above: The building is pictured at its location on Tammany Street. File graphic and photo.
A Butte-located nonprofit using the same name as a major international non-government organization is cited in a letter sent to the Montana Board of Housing in opposition to an application for federal housing tax credits to fund a planned demolition of the former W.K. Dwyer Elementary School and construction of a 24-unit senior housing complex.
When the board met in Havre on Tuesday, Oct. 21 where the Dwyer was among the applications considered – and ultimately rejected – for federal housing tax credits, it had in its packet multiple letters submitted to it opposing the project. One of those letters, written by a Cameron Moylan who had spoken against the project when it was presented to the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Commission on June 17, refers to an offer from "Care International" to purchase the former school that was closed in 2016 and sold to ADLC in 2021.
That offer had been brought to the Commission by a Michael Liles on July 8 for a public hearing on the proposal brought forward by the Housing Company to demolish the former school and construct one- and two-bedroom apartments for residents ages 55 and over, with an income requirement estimated at between $19,000 and $41,000 based on area median income.
The handout concerning that offer that was given to Commissioners and members of the public at that July 8 meeting indicates that Care International is located at 944 S. Wyoming St. in Butte and that its president is a Janet Obonyo. A Google search of that address in Butte indicated it's the Caleb House, operated by Ovation Services.
However, a Montana Cadastral search shows that the property – actually 944 1/2 S. Wyoming St. – is owned by Saint Josephs Church LLC. located at 208 S. Washington St. in Butte. A Montana Cadastral search of 208 S. Washington St. in Butte shows that it is owned by Cameron J. Moylan.
The Care International website, care.org, states the president and CEO is Michelle Nunn and that its founders were Arthur Cuming Ringland and Lincoln Clark who established in 1945. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland with offices in New York and Brussels.
In addition to referencing the "Care International" offer, the letter includes a link to a GoFundMe, "Help Save & Reopen Dwyer School & Gym." As of press time today, that fundraising effort has raised a total of $445 out of a goal of $8,000 to purchase the former school, and it states that donations to it are tax deductible. Its GoFundMe page states it was started by Janet Obonyo, but not for Care International. Rather, it states the GoFundMe is for the Montana Monuments Foundation.
GreatNonprofits.org, a website for donors, volunteers and clients to review and share their experiences with charitable organizations and provides crowdsourced information about the reputability of such organizations, states that the Montana Monuments Foundation is located at 208 S. Washington St. in Butte.
The Montana Board of Housing agenda and packet is available to read online at https://commerce.mt.gov/Files/Meetings-Events/Meetings/Boards/MBOH/Binde....
This continues to be a developing story.
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