As the Montana Rescue Mission (MRM) celebrates a new partnership, leaders are dealing with accusations against a former employee involving sexual abuse.Watch the video below: Montana Rescue Mission responds to civil lawsuitOn Fr iday, officials with the MRM and RiverStone Health came together to celebrate the opening of a new clinic aimed at providing care for the homeless.The clinic will take care of patients' mental health, a service Montana Rescue Mission's substance abuse counselor and social worker, Nate Church, provided until he was released in October of last year.Eric Peterson, a Montana Rescue Mission board member, says the mission is aware it is named in a civil suit filed in February for negligence regarding sexaul-abuse allegations against Church.A civil suit, not so much a surprise, I guess, just because the allegations were something that had come up prior, so we were aware of the allegations, said Peterson.Peterson says the board and the administration were also aware that the state board of Behavioral Health had suspended Church's licenses for inappropriate behavior with a client, but MRM hired him anyway.They had suspended his license for a period of time and then he had to go through some sort of a process to get it rehabilitated, which, from my understanding, he completed all of the steps to do that and was in good standing, Peterson said.While there are no current criminal charges filed against Church, Peterson says the mission talked with police earlier this week and says it's important to take allegations and lawsuits seriously.Any time a victim is willing to come forward, they should be given the opportunity to pursue, pursue those claims, you know, through the legal process and everything, and I think that needs to play itself out, said Peterson.At the opening of the clinic, however, officials at RiverStone and the rescue mission were looking forward.Riverstone Health has actually been doing Health Care for the Homeless" since 1997, but the difference is everything will be in one building, making it easier for people to get there from the MRM.I thought it was a great idea to just centralize those services and bring everything right here to the South Side, said Jon Forte, Riverstone Health president and CEO.Forte says the clinic was at St. Vincent de Paul and on First Avenue North, but now this collaboration will make it easier for those who are homeless to take care of their health.Get folks treated for high blood pressure, maybe diagnose cancers or other oral health conditions and get them over to our dental clinic, Forte said about taking care of people. ...read more read less