Participants in the “Creative Aging Art Class” work on their paintings during a recent session at the Billings LIFTT Office. One participant recently sent LIFTT a letter thanking the agency for the class, calling it “a form of healing.” (LIFTT Photo)
As we approach the midpoint of LIFTT’s fiscal year, we find ourselves looking both backward and forward. The past six months have brought their share of challenges and uncertainties, yet they have also reminded us why the work we do matters so deeply.
Every day, LIFTT continues to provide independent living services to individuals and families across South and Central Eastern Montana who rely on us for information, advocacy, support, and opportunity. The work is not always easy. Like many organizations serving rural communities, we navigate changing systems, limited resources, and the everyday complexities that come with serving a large geographic area.
And yet, the mission remains clear.
We are here to help people live independently, to remove barriers, and to walk alongside individuals as they build the lives they want for themselves. Sometimes that work takes the form of helping someone find housing, navigate healthcare systems, or access transportation. Other times it takes the form of something simpler, but just as meaningful: creating spaces where people can learn, connect, and rediscover hope. One example of this is LIFTT’s Acrylic Painting Class in Billings, offered this past winter. What began as a small art class quickly became something much more for the participants.
Recently, we received a letter from one of the students who attended the class. In it, he described the experience as one of the most enjoyable and therapeutic activities he had participated in since retiring. He wrote about the peace and stillness of the classroom, the quiet conversations among participants, and the encouragement provided by the instructor and staff. Even though he described himself as someone with “little art aptitude,” he found himself thriving in the environment.
Most strikingly, he described the class as “a form of healing” that helped renew his outlook on life and his sense of hope.
That simple reflection captures something essential about LIFTT’s work. Independent living is not only about services and programs. It is also about creating opportunities for people to reconnect with themselves, with their communities, and with the possibility of new beginnings.
As we move into the second half of the fiscal year, our commitment remains the same: to continue finding new and innovative ways to fulfill LIFTT’s vision and mission. Some of those ideas will involve new programs and partnerships. Others may begin as small opportunities, like an art class on a Tuesday morning, that grow into something much more meaningful.
Perhaps one of the most exciting parts of this work is that we do not dream alone. We dream alongside the people we serve, imagining together what greater independence, dignity, and opportunity might look like.
Sometimes the most powerful steps forward begin with something very simple: a conversation, a shared space, or the courage to try something new.
As we look ahead to the next six months, we remain grateful for the community that surrounds LIFTT and for the many individuals whose lives intersect with our work each day.
Their stories continue to remind us why this mission matters.
Carlos A. Ramalho
Executive Director
Living Independently for Today & Tomorrow (LIFTT)
About Living Independently for Today & Tomorrow (LIFTT): LIFTT is a Montana 501(c)3 corporation organized as a Center for Independent Living (CIL). With team members based in Billings and Glendive, LIFTT provides aging and disabled members of the community with programs and services that help empower them to break down the physical, bureaucratic, and cultural barriers that prevent them from being fully independent participants in their lives and communities throughout 18 counties in southeastern and south-central Montana: Big Horn, Carbon, Carter, Custer, Dawson, Fallon, Garfield, Golden Valley, McCone, Musselshell, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, Rosebud, Stillwater, Treasure, Wibaux, and Yellowstone. For more information, please visit liftt.org or download our mobile app for your Apple device.
Our Vision: Empowering aging and disabled individuals to LIFTT themselves above the barriers of life.
Our Mission: Living Independently for Today and Tomorrow – LIFTT’s mission is to empower aging and disabled individuals to live independently through education, support, and opportunities.