Mitch McCabe used to fool around when he drew, never taking it seriously. But a motor vehicle accident in 1998 left McCabe, who was 15 years old, with a spinal cord injury. After the accident, McCabe was inspired by a fellow artist to give art another shot. Today he paints. One can often find him [...]
Hanna Hamaoka is a hard worker. As a daycleaner at the Good Food Store, Hanna busses tables, cleans restrooms, takes out the garbage and does other tasks. She has worked there since 2003, but until recently she was unable to receive the same employee benefits as other Good Food Store employees simply because Hanna needs [...]
Lou Hayes has been training dogs for much of her life and she’s been training service animals for the last 12 years. But it wasn’t until a year ago that she opened Service Animals For You, a non-profit organization that does one-on-one animal training, to the public. Hayes is a retired police officer who used [...]
You don’t need a lot of money to be entertained in Missoula. As a native Missoulian, I want to point you in the right direction. Although boredom can creep up on everyone, there are things you can do to get out of the house to stay active and entertained. Independent Living is more than living [...]
Summit’s mission is to promote community awareness, equal access, and the independence of people with disabilities through advocacy, education, and the advancement of civil rights. To further this mission, Summit has specialized employees and is involved with task forces that work toward improving communities in Montana. We also sponsor several independent groups who do their [...]
MYLF Montana Youth Leadership Forum (MYLF) will be held again this year July 18-22. We are expecting a record high of 25 students this year, with one from Ravalli County. The students have the opportunity to spend one week free at Carroll College in Helena, MT, with other students with disabilities from across the state, [...]
First, a big welcome to our new peer advocates Joel Peden and Rick Eakle. The Ravalli County peers will be enjoying an Osprey game on June 28 and plan on having a Peer outing at the Victor Steakhouse on August 12. Kookie Karaoke Komedy Knight on May 14 was quite successful. We had a total [...]
This summer Summit facilitated three independent living skills training classes: a Self- Awareness & Assertiveness class, a Working Well with a Disability class and a Disability Awareness and Attitudes class. The Self-Awareness and Working Well workshops both had six participants who set summer goals, and were led by Darren Larson and Jude Monson. The Disability [...]
The Flathead County Peer Advocates provided a Game Night social activity on May 21. Twenty-six people were in attendance and everyone had a great time. There were several game tables with cards or other activities going on at the same time. There was also a Wii Bowling tournament which turned out to be a very [...]
Summit hosted a picnic at Montana Power Park in Thompson Falls on June 23. Everyone who came had a great time! There were 15 people, including Representative Pat Ingraham. We had burgers, chili dogs, potato salad and cupcakes. The weather was fantastic! On August 18 there will be an Accessible Recreation Rendezvous at Pilgrim Creek [...]