Leading by example: Toby Strout

Countless organizations, both local and national, serve those in need in Monroe County. In this series, the IDS will spotlight a group of people who do the tough, tedious work to make that service happen — the directors of these charitable organizations.

WHAT SHE DOES
She leads a service agency that works to end structural and interpersonal violence for women and children and serves more than 2,000 people every year. 

HOW SHE GOT STARTED
In 1987, Strout was serving on the Middle Way House Board of Directors when she agreed to temporarily serve as Executive Director. After a few months, she decided to cease working as a filmmaker and made Middle Way House her career.

ON HER WATCH
Middle Way House went from an eight bed shelter with a few needed services to a 30 bed shelter with more than 10 programs and services. These include a rape crisis center, transitional housing and legal advocacy. Middle Way House also expanded into three other counties.

WHY SHE LOVES HER JOB
Strout admitted it’s not the specific things she does each day (like paperwork) that make her job rewarding. It’s the mission of the agency as a whole. “We are able to make a difference,” Strout said. “Not only for individuals but for the environment in which women report abuse.”

YOU WOULDN'T EXPECT
Even at 65, Strout still does the agency’s direct service and chores. Before this interview, she was cleaning toilets.

MOMENT OF PRIDE
A woman came to Middle Way House with her infant son because her husband had held her hair and banged her face into the sidewalk.

The woman used the agency’s services to get back on her feet. After enrolling at IU, she started Middle Way House’s legal advocacy program, which provides abuse victims with legal assistance.

After graduation, she went on to head a legal advocacy program for all of Montgomery County in Ohio.

SHOCKING STATISTIC
Across the country, domestic violence shelters report a 55 to 70 percent rate of return following a shelter stay.

The highest rate that Middle Way House has ever experienced is 33 percent.

ADVICE FOR STUDENTS
“In the long term, nobody cares if you got an A, or a B, or even a C. That’s not all there is about you. What did you get out of the class? What did you learn that you didn’t know before? There’s a way to look at life that helps make every experience useful as you go forward.”