LIFTT - Billings, MT

Location: Billings, MT.

LIFTT is a not-for-profit agency governed by a consumer-controlled Board of Directors whose lives have been personally impacted by a disability.  It is funded in part by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended in 2014 (Title VII- Independent Living Services), and the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (Disability Employment & Transitions Division).

LIFTT provides consumer and advocacy services to residents of Big Horn, Carbon, Carter, Custer, Dawson, Fallon, Garfield, Golden Valley, McCone, Musselshell, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, Rosebud, Stillwater, Treasure, Wibaux and Yellowstone counties as well as works on a systemic level on a local, state and national level to improve the lives of individuals living with disabilities.

Mission

Living Independently for Today & Tomorrow, Inc. is a Montana non-profit organization committed to empowering persons with disabilities to live freely and equally in Southeastern Montana through the provision of independent living services which reduce societal barriers.”

Philosophy

As an Center for Independent Living (CIL), LIFTT believes in the Independent Living Philosophy as a basic foundation from which we provide both consumer and community services.

Key Elements of this philosophy are:

• Consumer Control– We believe that the consumer should set their own goals and take the lead in achieving them.

• Self Help and self-advocacy– We believe in the importance of educating ourselves, asserting our rights and taking action on our own behalf.

• Peer Support– We believe we can learn from and support one another through the bond of shared experience.

• Inclusion– We believe each person has unique ideas, talents and contributions which are to be valued. We believe in equal access and participation for all.

• Cross-disability– We recognize the importance of including ALL people regardless of disability.

• Diverse cultural background– We recognize that disability transcends race, gender, ethnicity, religion, economics and sexual orientation.

• Social Change– We focus on changing society verses “fixing” the individual. This movement is at its core one of human and civil rights.

• Leadership development– We instill in each other the skills and confidence needed to grow as leaders and assume leadership roles within the independent living movement and society at large.

• Rights and Responsibilities– We believe that personal power and independence come not only through the existence of human and civil rights but also from assuming responsibility for our needs and owning the consequences of our actions.