LIFTT and HRDC District 7 are working together to develop Billings upLIFTT Thrift as a Work Experience site for TANF and SNAP recipients.
LIFTT is working with HRDC to expand opportunities for community members to gain practical work experience through the Billings branch of upLIFTT Thrift Store located at 1201 Grand Avenue, Suite # 1. The collaboration will bring another dimension to the store’s mission by creating a setting where participants can develop workplace skills, build confidence, and contribute to their community.
Plans call for upLIFTT to become a work experience site for eligible participants receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Working together, LIFTT and HRDC will help match participants with experiences appropriate to their interests, abilities, and program requirements.
A community thrift store offers opportunities to practice communication, teamwork, organization, and customer service in everyday situations. These experiences can help participants explore their strengths, establish workplace routines, and prepare for future employment opportunities.
Pamela Ramirez, LIFTT’s IL Program Manager, and Kristin Porter, Billings upLIFTT Thrift Store Manager, have helped move the collaboration forward through discussions with HRDC representatives Michaela Schultz and Melissa Hoffman. Their work reflects a shared commitment to connecting people with opportunities that support greater independence.
For LIFTT, this initiative builds on the belief that independence grows when people have access to meaningful choices and practical support. As a work experience site, upLIFTT can serve the community through both affordable shopping and opportunities to learn and participate.
We look forward to sharing more information as we finalize arrangements. Community members interested in learning more may contact Pamela Ramirez, LIFTT’s IL Program Manager, and Kristin Porter, Billings upLIFTT Thrift Store Manager, at (406) 259-5181or send us a message through 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 people with disabilites and aging indivduals with programs, services, resources and advocacy 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
Our Vision: Empowering aging individuals and people with disabilities to LIFTT themselves above the barriers of life.
Our Mission: Living Independently for Today and Tomorrow (LIFTT) mission as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Center for Independent Living serving Southeastern Montana is to empower aging individuals and people with disabilities to live independently through education, support, and opportunities.
You can donate to LIFTT by clicking here.
For federal and state funding information for Living Independently for Today & Tomorrow (LIFTT), a Center for Independent Living, visit: liftt.org/funding-acknowledgement/