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Linkage Project Works with LIFTT Peers

LIFTT is thrilled to announce that Prof. Dr. Meg Traci and her team from the Montana Disability & Health Program (MTDH) will visit LIFTT’s new headquarters at 1241 Crawford Drive, Billings, MT 59102, on June 17 and 18, 2024!

Dr. Traci and the MTDH team will work with LIFTT’s Peer Mentors on the Linkage Project, an initiative designed to support adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) who are not meeting their health needs.

The Linkage Project has two main goals:

Empowerment Through Education: Helping individuals learn about health issues that are important to them.
Improving Health Access: Ensuring those with I/DD receive the necessary support to address their health needs.

This is an incredible opportunity for our community to benefit from Dr. Traci and her team’s expertise and dedication. We look forward to the positive impact this collaboration will bring!

Stay tuned for more updates on the Linkage Project and LIFTT’s other work with MTDH, and join us in welcoming Prof. Dr. Meg Traci and her team to Billings!

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 people with disabilities 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.

A Grand (Opening) Thank You!

The LIFTT Team poses in front of the main entrance to the new Billings office during the grand opening on May 10, 2024

Living Independently for Today & Tomorrow (LIFTT) would like to thank all of the consumers, strategic partners, and community members who attended the grand opening of our new Billings location at 1241 Crawford Drive on May 10. The new building is a huge step in realizing LIFTT’s long-held dreams regarding how we engage the community in our mission and vision, and it was wonderful to share it with all of you

LIFTT would like to make special acknowledgment of the following people and organizations for their support of the Grand Opening:

Par Montana for their financial support and the crew of volunteers who did some yard work for us ahead of the event
Passages Culinary Arts Program for catering awesome appetizers and desserts
The Billings Chamber of Commerce for recognizing us with a ribbon-cutting ceremony
Mitch Bohn of the Wide Left Sports podcast for his enthusiastic event promotion and coordinating several raffle donations
Our Raffle Donors
- Altana Federal Credit Union
- Ashley Williams Photography
- Rachel Meech Insurance
- HighD Travel-Heidi Stevens
- Gratitude in Action-Terri Todd
- Desiree Bond
- Loud Lark Media
- Limber Tree Yoga & Wellness Studio-Clementine Lindley
- Bistro Enzo-Tyler Sampson

We hope everyone who attended enjoyed the event and came away with LIFTT’s enthusiasm for the new space and the possibilities for enhanced programs and services that lie before us!

Keep scrolling below for a gallery of pictures from our Grand Opening!

Grand Opening-Kaufi & Britany

LIFTT Team members Kaufi Delgadillo & Britany Hopf at the LIFTT Grand Opening May 10, 2024

Grand Opening-Kaufi, Britany & Erin

LIFTT Team members Kaufi Delgadillo, Britany Hopf & Erin Culp at the LIFTT Grand Opening May 10, 2024

Grand Opening-Carlos & Connor

LIFTT Executive Director Carlos Ramalho being interviewed by Connor McEvoy of KULR8 during the LIFTT Grand Opening on May 10, 2024

Grand Opening-Jed, Josiah & Mitch

LIFTT Team Member Jed Barton with Josiah Porcel of Sen. Jon Tester’s staff and Mitch Bohn of the Wide Left Sports Podcast at the LIFTT Grand Opening May 10, 2024

Grand Opening-Display Table

Grand Opening-Bags

Grand Opening-Mugs

Grand Opening-Banana Pudding

A Passages Culinary Arts Program paricpants prepares a tray of food during the LIFTT grand opening on May 10, 2024

Grand Opening-Mitch & Raffle

Mitch Bohn of the Wide Left Sports Podcast poses with a table of raffle prizes at the LIFTT grand opening on May 10, 2024. Bohn was responsible for securing many of the donations from local businesses and indivduals.

Grand Opening-Food 1

Grand Opening-Food 2

Grand Opening-Food 3

Grand Opening-Food 4

Grand Opening-Food 5

Grand Opening-Food 6

Grand Opening-Tanya

LIFTT Peer Program Coordinator Tanya Thomas staffs an information table at the LIFTT Grand Opening on May 10, 2024.

Grand Opening-Vincents

LIFTT Team Members Jocelyn and Annedria Vincent at the LIFTT Grand Opening on May 10, 2024

Grand Opening-Melanie & Erin

LIFTT Team Members Melanie Leuthold and Erin Culp during the LIFTT Grand Opening on May 10, 2024

Grand Opening (30)

LIFTT Team Members Jen Hawkinson, Nancy Grigsby & Monica Anderson during the LIFTT Grand Opening on May 10, 2024

Grand Opening-Dan & Al

Par Montana Public Affairs Director Dan Carter talks with LIFTT Team Member Al Black Crow during the LIFTT Grand Opening on May 10, 2024.

Grand Opening-Dan & Carlos

Par Montana Public Affairs Director Dan Carter with LIFTT Executive Director Carlos Ramalho at the LIFTT Grand Opening on May 10, 2024

Grand Opening-Al, John & Tara

LIFTT Team Members Al Black Crow, Tara Robison, and John Robison engage with the public during the LIFTT Grand Opening on May 10, 2024.

Grand Opening-Ribbon Cutting

LIFTT Executive Director Carlos Ramalho does the honros as other team members look on during the Billings Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting at the LIFTT Grand Opening on May 10, 2024

Grand Opening-Carlos, Deb

With other team members looking on LIFTT Executive Director Carlos Ramalho and Finance Director Debra Acosta pose with a certificate from the Billings Chamber of Commerce during the LIFTT Grand Opening on May 10, 2024.

Grand Opening-Vern & Carlos

LIFTT Peer and SDPAS consumer Vern Anderson with LIFTT Executive Director Carlos Ramalho at the LIFTT Grand Opening on May 10, 2024

You can donate to LIFTT by clicking here.

Special Meeting of LIFTT Board of Directors Feb 19

There will be a special meeting of the LIFTT Board of Directors. Monday, February 19, 2024, beginning at 4 p.m. The meeting will be conducted virtually using the Zoom platform. The public is invited to attend and offer comments during the public comment period.

Click here to view or download the meeting agenda and Zoom information for the Special February 19, 2024, LIFTT board of directors meeting. (Adobe PDF)

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 people with disabilities 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, Wibaux, and Yellowstone. For more information, please visit liftt.org or download our mobile app for Apple or Google Play.

You can donate to LIFTT by clicking here.

Neil Young: Sculpting the Past and the Future

Editor’s note: A version of this story appears in the November 2022 LIFTT Connection Newsletter. You can download the newsletter here (Adobe PDF)

Renowned sculptor Neil Young is mentoring the younger generation in Glendive. Neil was born In Minnesota in 1951 and moved to Montana on his own when he was 12 years old. He worked on some ranches throughout his life.

He has degrees in fine arts and aircraft mechanics. According to Neil, his hobbies now include “recycling the recyclable.” In 2018, he was diagnosed with throat, eye, lung, and brain cancer, progressing one after another. “It was tough,” he recalls, “but I recovered and have been doing well since 2020.”

Neil uses an electrolarynx to talk, but that does not prevent him from communicating well with everyone. Neil is very inventive and creative. Among his many gifts is the ability to transform metal scraps into beautiful sculptures. One of his most well-known pieces is the “Welcome to Glendive” Dinosaur that sits in front of the Crossroads Cenex on Highway 16 just south of I-94 exit 213.

Neil is now mentoring LIFTT’s young consumers’ boys and girls living with a disability. Currently, he is working with one young man Jadon Bergstrom. LIFTT and Neil are making plans for the future. They plan to build a sculpture studio in our Glendive office where the community will interact with him and learn that there is a sculptor inside all of us! Thanks, Neil! We are happy you are part of 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, Glendive, and Red Lodge, LIFTT provides people with disabilities 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 southcentral Montana: Big Horn, Carbon, Carter, Custer, Dawson, Fallon, Garfield, Golden Valley, McCone, Musselshell, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, Stillwater, Wibaux, and Yellowstone. For more information, please visit liftt.org or download our mobile app on Apple or Google Play. You can donate to LIFTT by clicking here.