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What does the Trump budget mean for Aging and Disability Programs?

What does the Trump budget mean for Aging and Disability Programs?

On March 11, 2025, President Trump released his budget proposal, calling for a 22.6% cut in domestic discretionary spending, a staggering $163 billion reduction. While Congress holds the ultimate authority to pass a final budget, this proposal signals deep potential consequences for the very programs that empower aging and disabled individuals to live independently in their homes and communities.

Why This Matters for LIFTT and Our Community

Living Independently for Today & Tomorrow (LIFTT) is a federally recognized Center for Independent Living. Like other CILs across the nation, we rely on a mix of federal funding through the Administration for Community Living (ACL), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and other discretionary grants to deliver core services. In LIFTT’s case, these services include Personal Care Assistance (PCA), Independent Living services, Advocacy, Home Modifications, Housing and Transportation Assistance, Vocational rehabilitation and Pre-ETS services, Diabetes prevention and health promotion, Peer mentorship and community reintegration.

If the proposed cuts were enacted, the consequences would be serious, as follows:

  • Reductions in staffing and services at LIFTT and CILs across the country, meaning fewer people served, fewer home visits, and fewer supports.
  • Elimination or contraction of rural transportation programs that are often the only accessible option for those living in isolated areas.
  • Delays or denials in critical Medicaid-funded services, especially for people with complex needs who depend on long-term care supports.
  • Erosion of independent living options, resulting in greater institutionalization and fewer choices for older adults and disabled people.
  • Disruption to health, safety, employment, and education for thousands of Americans who rely on these programs not only to survive, but to thrive.

This is not just about budgets. It’s about people.

LIFTT’s mission is rooted in the belief that every person deserves dignity, choice, and autonomy. We are deeply concerned that this proposed budget undermines that vision. That said, this is not the final word. The President’s budget is only a proposal — Congress has the power to decide what gets funded.

Now is the time to make our voices heard.

We call on our partners, community members, and allies to speak out in support of the Independent Living Movement. Share your story. Contact your representatives. Help ensure that vital services continue for our most vulnerable neighbors. You can start by going to congress.gov/find-your-member and entering your address into the search prompt. You will receive contact information for the representative for your district and the senators from your state.

At LIFTT, we are planning, advocating, and working collaboratively with partners across the state and nation to protect the programs that matter most. We will not stop fighting for the people we serve. Together, we can defend the future of the Independent Living Movement.

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 or Android Device.

You can donate to LIFTT by clicking here.

PCA Team Receives Glowing Review

PCA Team Receives Glowing Review

We are proud to share that LIFTT’s PCA Program has received a glowing review from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Our team’s Self-Direct Provider Quality Assurance Report submission was recognized for its thoroughness, clarity, and commitment to excellence. In the reviewer’s words, the findings “suggest you have a comprehensive understanding of the outcome-based nature of this review process,” and praised the care and attention given to the standards and policies submitted.

This achievement reflects the hard work, knowledge, and dedication of the PCA team—program Supervisors Lanette Brown and Holly Hanson, as well as Program Facilitators Kylie Leeper, Madison Scott, Melea Roark, and Tana Stone. It also highlights LIFTT’s ongoing commitment to serving aging and disabled Montanans with integrity and professionalism.

Well done, PCA Team! Your work empowers individuals to live independently with dignity and choice.

For more information about Medicaid Self-Directed PCA services at LIFTT and see if you or someone you know might be eligible, click here or call our offices in Billings at (406) 259-5181 or Glendive at (406) 948-8500.

 

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 or Android Device.

You can donate to LIFTT by clicking here.

LIFTT joins Give Local Glendive

LIFTT joins Give Local Glendive

LIFTT Team Members Shilo Mitelstad and Tana Stone visit with a youngster during the Give Local Glendive Event at the Eastern Plains Event Center on May 1, 2025

LIFTT Team Members Shilo Midelstead and Tana Stone visit with a youngster during the Give Local Glendive Event at the Eastern Plains Event Center on May 1, 2025. Give Local Glendive brought local nonprofits, businesses, and community members together to generate awareness of community programs, foster civic pride, and celebrate generosity.

On May 1, 2025, LIFTT proudly participated in Give Local Glendive – Community Day of Giving, an inspiring event organized by the Glendive Chamber of Commerce & Agriculture and the Greater  Glendive Community Foundation to celebrate generosity, civic pride, and local impact.

Held at the Eastern Plains Events Center downtown Glendive, the event brought together nonprofits, businesses, and community members with one shared goal: to strengthen local organizations that serve the people of Eastern Montana. LIFTT’s team was on hand to connect with attendees, share information about our services, and highlight the many ways we support aging and individuals with disabilities across our 18-county service area.

Our presence at the event helped increase public awareness of LIFTT’s mission, programs, and new transportation initiative in Eastern Montana. It also provided a valuable opportunity to build relationships with local residents, leaders, and fellow service providers.

We are grateful to the Glendive Chamber,  Greater Glendive Community Foundation, and to everyone who stopped by our booth, asked questions, or showed support. Events like these reinforce our belief in the power of community partnerships and the importance of making LIFTT’s services visible and accessible to all.

For more information about LIFTT’s operation in Glendive and the eastern portion of our service area, please call our Glendive office at (406) 948-8500 or stop by the office at 119 S. Kenderick Avenue. We are open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m

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 or Android Device.

You can donate to LIFTT by clicking here.

LIFTT Renews Partnership with MTDH

LIFTT Renews Partnership with MTDH

Logo of the Montana Disability & Health Program. A team from MTDH will be at LIFTT June 17-18 to work on their Linkage Project.

Living Independently for Today & Tomorrow (LIFTT) has renewed its partnership with a long-time collaborator, The Montana Disability & Health Program (MTDH). In 2025, we are proud to work with MTDH on three projects that continue championing the rights, health, wellness, and independence of people with disabilities across our region.

Living Well in the Community (LWC) Workshops

LIFTT is training and supporting up to five facilitators to lead or co-lead LWC workshops, which promote self-determination, goal setting, and wellness for people with disabilities. These evidence-based workshops help participants develop skills to manage their health and daily life more effectively, offering encouragement and tools for independent living.

Accessibility Ambassadors Program

Our team works alongside community partners to conduct ADA Assessments and Inclusive Interdisciplinary Walk/Move (I²) Audits. These initiatives identify and reduce physical and systemic barriers, fostering more inclusive and accessible spaces in our neighborhoods. Accessibility Ambassadors play a vital role in ensuring that the built environment respects the rights and dignity of all community members.

Wellness Club and Linkage Events

LIFTT also hosts Wellness Club and Linkage events that connect consumers to peer support, health education, and community resources. These workshops build meaningful connections and reinforce a sense of belonging, empowerment, and holistic health among people with disabilities.

Each of these programs supports health, leadership, and community engagement, reflecting LIFTT’s commitment to promoting advocacy, accessibility, and inclusion to help Montanans with disabilities live fuller, more independent lives. We thank MTDH for their continued partnership with LIFTT and our consumers.

For more information about LIFTT’s MTDH projects as well as our many other programs and services, please give us a call at (406) 259-5181 (Billings), (406) 948-8500 (Glendive), or send us an email at liftt.org/contact 

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 or Android Device.

You can donate to LIFTT by clicking here.

Motherhood, Disability, and the Quiet Architecture of Resilience

Motherhood, Disability, and the Quiet Architecture of Resilience

From the Desk of the Executive Director

Motherhood has always been a story of improvisation, courage, and unseen labor. But when disability intersects with motherhood — whether in the mother herself, her child, or her community — the story becomes even richer, more intricate, more demanding of the kind of perseverance that builds legacies in silence.

As we approach Mother’s Day, it’s important to acknowledge an often overlooked truth: that many mothers in our communities are engaged daily in strategic living.

They are not only caregivers. They are advocates. They are navigators of invisible systems. They are builders of possibility in landscapes shaped by inaccessibility, misunderstanding, and, too often, indifference.’

For mothers living with disabilities, the world often demands more than should ever be asked. They must raise families while educating schools, employers, policymakers, and even strangers, about their worth and needs. They must plan, adapt, negotiate, and sometimes fight, simply to have the same opportunities that others take for granted.

For mothers raising children with disabilities, every small victory — an accessible playground, a supportive teacher, a working elevator — feels monumental. The work is not just at the bedside or the breakfast table; it is also in the letters written, the meetings attended, the systems challenged, and the dreams defended, day after day.

Two sets of hands one a child's and one an adults stacking rocks

These mothers are tacticians of resilience. They know how to reimagine plans at a moment’s notice, endure when endurance feels impossible, and celebrate every achievement, however small, with a joy sharpened by the required effort.

At LIFTT, we understand that independence is not a solo journey — it is a collective act, sustained by communities, families, and, very often, by the strategic wisdom of mothers who refuse to give up on a future where all people can belong, thrive, and lead.

This Mother’s Day, we honor these architects of hope. We celebrate their quiet rebellions against barriers, their fierce defense of dignity, and their relentless shaping of spaces where independence is not a dream but a right.

Their work is not always visible, but everywhere—in every ramp built, every opportunity opened, and every life lifted higher.

Happy Mother’s Day to all who mother, nurture resilience, and believe in a world made more inclusive by love and perseverance.

With deep gratitude and respect,

Carlos Ramalho, Executive Director, Living Independently for Today & Tomorrow (LIFTT)

Carlos can be reached at (406) 294-5190 or carlosr@liftt.org

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 or Android Device.

You can donate to LIFTT by clicking here.

SAIL Classes begin May 27

Join LIFTT for Staying Active & Independent for Life (SAIL)! SAIL is a 12-week program for seniors that focuses on building strength, balance, and flexibility, skills critical to maintaining independence, preventing falls, and improving overall well-being. Call (406) 259-5181 or visit Liftt.org/sail-grant for more info!

Living Independently for Today and Tomorrow (LIFTT) is excited to announce that we have received a generous grant from the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services to participate in the Stay Active & Independent for Life (SAIL) Program! Beginning this summer, LIFTT will offer free SAIL classes designed for adults 65 and older. These classes will focus on building strength, balance, and flexibility, which are critical to maintaining independence, preventing falls, and improving overall well-being.

The SAIL Program is a 12-week evidence-based fitness series in which participants engage in exercises that can be performed standing or seated, as desired. Each session includes balance, strength, and stretching routines, and participants’ fitness progress will be assessed through periodic checks such as the 8-Foot Timed Up and Go TestBicep Curls, and Chair-Stand Exercises.

Through the support of the SAIL grant, LIFTT will be able to cover the costs of specialized equipment, instructor training, and accessible venues, ensuring that these vital classes are offered at no cost to our aging community members.

Why Bring SAIL to LIFTT?

  • 20% of Montana adults report not engaging in regular physical activity.
  • Two out of three Montana adults are overweight or obese.
  • Regular exercise improves balance and reduces the risk of falls, significantly decreasing the chance of injury, hospitalization, or loss of independence.
  • LIFTT’s mission has always been to empower aging and disabled individuals to live independently, and the SAIL program perfectly fits that vision.

The first SAIL training class at LIFTT begins its voyage with an orientation session on Tuesday, May 27 at 10 a.m. at the Billings LIFTT office (1241 Crawford Drive), with subsequent sessions held Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 a.m. through August 14.

For more information about LIFTT’s SAIL training or to register, contact LIFTT’s Nutritional Health Coaches and certified SAIL trainers: Anya Pulis (406) 606-1766, anyap@liftt.org, or Eileen Rodgriguz (406) 294-5185, eileenr@liftt.org. More about the SAIL curriculum is available at sailfitness.org or through the Montana DPHHS Chronic Disease and Health Promotion Bureau. 

Let’s move together toward a stronger future!

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 or Android Device.

You can donate to LIFTT by clicking here.

LIFTT Expands Partnership with Vocational Rehabilitation

LIFTT Expands Partnership with Vocational Rehabilitation

Living Independently for Today and Tomorrow (LIFTT) is proud to announce that we are expanding our partnership wth Montana Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services! Together, we are providing support for adults and students with disabilities as they prepare for greater independence, employment, and success.

Through this collaboration with Vocational Rehabilitation, LIFTT is now offering services for

Adults Seeking Employment and Independence:

  • Career exploration and planning
  • Soft skills training and supported employment
  • Skills training, job placement, and retention support
  • Assistive technology and workplace accommodations
  • Support for independent living and community engagement
  • Customized employment services based on individual strengths and goals

Youth and Students (Ages 14–21) through Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS):

  • Job exploration counseling
  • Soft skills training and supported employment
  • Work-based learning experiences like internships and job shadowing
  • Workplace readiness training (communication, problem-solving, professionalism)
  • Counseling on post-secondary education and training opportunities
  • Self-advocacy instruction to promote independence and empowerment

Whether you are a student preparing for your first job or an adult ready for new career opportunities, LIFTT and VR support your journey toward success! For more information about vocational rehabilitation services through LIFTT, call (406) 259-5181 (Billings) or (406) 948-8500 (Glendive), send us a message through liftt.org/contact, or reach out to your regional VR office.

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 or Android Device.

You can donate to LIFTT by clicking here.

LIFTT is seeking a Finance/HR Manager!

LIFTT is seeking a Finance/HR Manager!

LIFTT is Hiring in our Billings office for a Finance and Human Resources Manager

Join our dynamic team!

 

LIFTT current has an opening in our Billings Montana office for a Finance & Human Resources Manager

As a member of the LIFTT Administrative Team, the FHRM primarily supports the following areas: financial, human resources, digital, and physical infrastructure. This position will report directly to the Executive Director. The FHRM is responsible for promoting consumer-directed services to persons with disabilities within LIFTT’s eighteen (18) county service area and shall focus their work on the spirit and intent of the independent living philosophy.

View the complete job description: Word, or PDF & Apply on Indeed.com

LIFTT is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. Persons with disabilities, veterans, women, and minorities are encouraged to apply.

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 or Android Device.

You can donate to LIFTT by clicking here.

Montana’s Disability History Demands your Attention

Montana’s Disability History Demands your Attention

A group of disabled children in Billings Montana in the early portion of the 20th century

In this photo from the Western Heritage Center collection a group of children most of whom are using artificial limbs, crutches and/or wheelchairs and were part of a community based program set up at St. Vincent hospital in the early 20th century pose with their caregivers/teachers who are nuns from Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth.

Equally Different, Unequally Remembered

Let’s be honest.

Disability is everywhere, yet historically, it’s been almost nowhere. Not in the textbooks, not in the museum wings, not in the official timelines of “how we got here.” Until now. From March to December 2025, the Western Heritage Center in Billings is hosting a groundbreaking exhibition: “Equally Different: Uncovering the History of Disability in Montana.” And no, this isn’t your average stroll through sepia-toned nostalgia.

This is about truth-telling. About visibility. About refusing to disappear.

Why This Exhibition Hits Different

This isn’t a story about charity or pity. It’s a story about power. It’s about how people with disabilities in Montana survived, organized, and dared to demand more—even when society told them to stay quiet, stay hidden, or stay institutionalized. t’s about the State School at Boulder. It’s about forced silence. It’s about resistance. It’s about how disability, though always part of our collective story, was edited out — until now. And if you think this is just “history,” think again. This is now.

DEI Isn’t Complete Without the “D” That Everyone Forgets

Do you want to talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion? Let’s talk about how disability is almost always the last guest invited to the table — if invited at all. “Equally Different” forces the conversation wide open. It doesn’t just fit into DEI — it expands it. It disrupts the idea that DEI is about marketing slogans and training modules. It says:

  • Where were disabled voices in your civil rights curriculum?
  • Why do your hiring policies celebrate diversity but exclude accessibility?
  • What happens when inclusion doesn’t include everyone?

This exhibition isn’t polite. It’s necessary, and it gives us all a choice: keep doing surface-level work, or go deeper.

 LIFTT’s Role: We’re Not Observers, We’re Participants

At LIFTT, we don’t see history as a spectator sport. We’re part of this ongoing narrative. We honor this exhibition because it names what was hidden. It tells the stories of people who fought for ramps, rights, respect, and are still fighting. It also reminds us that independent living was never handed out like a gift. It was won. So no, we’re not just encouraging you to visit the exhibition.
We’re asking you to let it change you.

Go.

Walk through it. Sit with it.

Let it make you uncomfortable.

Let it open something up.

And when you leave, don’t say, “Wow, I didn’t know.”

Say, “Now that I do — what will I do next?”

 History is only powerful when it moves us, and the fight for equity is only real when disability is not an afterthought — but a starting point. Let’s stop rewriting history to exclude. Let’s start living it equally different, and unapologetically whole.

The Western Heritage Center is located at 2822 Montana Avenue in downtown Billings and is open Tuesdays-Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to the museum is $5 for adults. $3 students & seniors, and free for children under age six. The buliding, which at one time was home to the Billings Public Library, has an ADA accessible elevator and an accessible entry is located at ground level to the right of the main entry staircase. The museum also provides what is known as a “Social Story” as a guide to help potential visitors with concerns about social interaction and public spaces learn what to expect when they come to the museum. For more information about the Western Heritage Center visit ywhc.org or call (406) 256-6809.

 

 

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 or Android Device.

You can donate to LIFTT by clicking here.

Outnumbered: an interactive art protest to save Section 504!

Outnumbered: an interactive art protest to save Section 504!

A bald white man sits at a classic school student desk sharpening pencils with several hundred pencils sitting another desk next to whom and a banner behind reading Disability Human Rights SAVE 504

Over 5000 pencils, one for each Montana student with a 504 accommodation plan, are being sharpened at Disability Rights Montana as an artistic protest of Attorney General Austen Knudsen’s participation in a lawsuit seeking to strip the right of people with disabilities to receive accommodations to participate in federally funded programs and services.

What do 5,401 pencils and a civil rights law passed in 1973 have in common? They’re both being slowly ground down in Montana.

Disability Rights Montana has launched a bold, creative protest in response to Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s participation in a lawsuit seeking to gut Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. This law prohibits discrimination based on disability in federally funded programs. If successful, this lawsuit would deprive thousands of individuals of legal protection, including the 5,401 Montana students in grades K-12 currently supported by 504 accommodation plans.

To resist, DRM is inviting the public to help sharpen 5,401 pencils to the nub — each one representing a student whose rights are on the line. It’s tactile, symbolic, and open to all.

When? April 10, noon to 7 PM
Where? 1022 Chestnut Street, Helena (fully accessible)
Can I attend remotely? Livestream at disabilityrightsmt.org
Use hashtag #ArtForRightsMT

LIFTT proudly supports Disability Rights Montana in defending Section 504 and opposing the Attorney General’s actions. We believe access is a right, not a debate.

Want to join the movement or bring this mobile protest to your town? Reach out to Kona Franks-Ongoy at (406) 441-4810 or kona@dr-mt.org.

Section 504 has always been about visibility, equity, and basic human dignity. Let’s not let anyone sharpen it out of existence.

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 or Android Device.

You can donate to LIFTT by clicking here.