HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-10-25 Correspondence - Disability Rights Montana - Advocate Spotlight, Montana's Mental Health System, and Captured BuffaloFrom:Disability Rights Montana - Life Beyond Compliance To:Bozeman Public Comment Subject:[EXTERNAL][BULK] Advocate Spotlight, Montana"s Mental Health System, and Captured Buffalo Date:Monday, March 10, 2025 9:02:11 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Advocate Spotlight, Montana'sMental Health System, and CapturedBuffalo READ IN APP Sabrina, Independent Living Specialist, Summit Independent Living A few months ago, Sabrina and I sat down and had a video chat about the ins and outs, ups and downs of growing up, trying to understand the world around us as kids and figuring out why some things were just — different. Since this conversation Sabrina has found herself with the awesome crew at Summit Independent Living working as an independent living specialist. This position does just what it sounds like, assists people with disabilities in understanding and learning how to live independently and make their own decisions. Living in Montana typically embeds a sense of freedom in folks to explore, to take MAR 8 Minute Bio with Sabrina risks, and a collect stories which will be told for decades. This is no different for people with disabilities and is a major reason why so many of us live here. But if we are not supported in living independently, if we are not able to make our own decisions, then the stories of our lives will never be as vibrant as we desire. Summit Independent Living is one of Montana’s Centers for Independent Living (CIL) and serves an area that includes Missoula, Kalispell, Hamilton, Polson, and places in-between. Sabrina: My name is Sabrina. I am originally from Vermont and moved here six years ago after college, and yeah, reside in Missoula. Don't plan on changing that anytime soon. Kona: Would you consider yourself more of a hunter or a gatherer? Sabrina: If it's for my loved ones, I'm a hunter. If it's just for me, a gatherer. So, I want to hunt for resources for folks, but I would rather gather and go inward if it's just for me. Kona: What is something that you have changed your mind about in the last few years? Sabrina: I'm going to probably give too much context all the time, but I had, a mom with a terminal illness growing up, and she was seen as “handicapped”, and I was always confused about the language because, yeah, handicapped versus disabilities. And the vocab just seemed really weird to me. I wanted to kind of dig deeper, but I didn't really have the space to do so. But I started, you know, reading things like Care Work and realizing I'm also a part of this population and wondering how I can better describe and advocate for other people. I've worked primarily with children in different forms, from case management to teaching and group home work and I've just learned to ask what makes sense for somebody else instead of assuming the textbook response is a good response because we always want to say the right thing, but it doesn't mean what's on paper is going to be the correct for somebody. So just figuring out terminology and differences and capabilities. So, while I don't know what people can or can't do, I’d rather know how they do it in different ways. Kona: As a person with a disability, what is something that you've learned about while having a disability? Sabrina: I don't know, it's mostly just been realizing nothing's wrong with me. It's also okay to ask for accommodations and ask for help because I'm not at the same foundation everyone else is. And so I might look a certain way, but I actually struggle a lot more. Yeah, it's okay to ask for help, but it's also okay to be weird! Kona: Excellent! So regarding disability, what's something that you think the world needs to know right now? Sabrina: It's not a problem. It's an opportunity to get closer to folks. Thanks for reading Life Beyond Compliance! This post is public so go ahead and share! Share Mental Health Service SystemThrough the Lens of the MontanaState Hospital When’s the last time you were without? What was missing? For some Montanans with mental illness, they are without a stable, predictable, and effective healthcare system. Every two years there is a flash in the pan at the legislature of how ‘things are getting better’ or there will be talk of the next evolution of a plan that will steer us in the right direction. And there is some truth in some of this. There are good ideas, and terrible ones. For example: Good Idea: increase the amount of mental health services people have access to in the major cities across Montana. Terrible Idea: Invest hundreds of thousands of dollars updating and/or building new institutionalized settings to continue hiding people with disabilities away from their family, friends, and communities. But how do we change? Where do we start? We’ll get into what Disability Rights Montana thinks should happen soon enough, but for now, we have a video of Mike, a staff attorney at DRMT, to give folks perspective on where we’ve been and where we are today. Spoiler, there may be self-driving cars and computers in our pockets, but the troubles at Montana’s state-run psychiatric institution are as old as its ribbon cutting. Life Beyond Compliance is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support the work of Disability Rights Montana, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Upgrade to paid Originally published on March 6, 2025, Native News Online. Photo: Buffalo Field Campaign Yellowstone National Park's Senior Bison Biologist, Chris Geremia, informed Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) Campaign Coordinator, Mike Mease, that Yellowstone has trapped a group of 200–210 buffalo at Stephens Creek near Gardiner, Montana. The buffalo began their annual migration into the Gardiner Basin last week, and the park started capturing groups of approximately 60 on Tuesday, March 4th, continuing through the morning of March 6th (58). These are the first buffalo to migrate into the basin this season. Yellowstone National Park Traps WildBuffalo Again!: Over 200 Held atStephens Creek in Montana This practice goes back years. Last year, BFC Board Member James Holt commented: “Luring and trapping Buffalo inside Yellowstone Park is a decades-long practice that continues because of Montana’s stance to not permit a self-sustaining wild Buffalo population in the state. Wild Buffalo herds should be thriving on millions of acres of National public trust lands but for the capitulation of the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service to Montana’s plan of managing wild buffalo for extinction.” BFC Board Vice President and Tribal Sovereignty & Indigenous Lifeways Program Director, Dallas Gudgell (Yankton Dakota) states that BFC is looking for solutions as the current and decades old Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP) continues to fail the Buffalo, tribal people, and community members. "BFC believes that the best solution is bring tribal leaders to the decision making management table and in the form of Tribal Co-management. It's time to bring Indigenous voices in to help determine how to restore and conserve wild migratory Buffalo and exercise treaty rights. It is time to allow the Buffalo to find their own tolerance zones and then protect those habitats as was done Horse Butte," Gudgell said. Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. We hope these updates empower you to stay informed, engaged, and active toward actualizing true inclusion of people with disabilities. Please share this newsletter with friends, colleagues, and anyone else interested in disability justice and living beyond compliance. Let’s keep pushing for a more inclusive and equitable Montana—together! Share Life Beyond Compliance For questions, comments, or to get involved, just reply to this email or visit our Let’s Stay Connected, grab a Coffee,and Change the World website: disabilityrightsmt.org. Me ka mahalo, Kona Franks-Ongoy Director of Communications Disability Rights Montana You’re currently a free subscriber to Life Beyond Compliance. To help us build this library of content and to gain access to additional features, consider upgrading your subscription. Upgrade to paid LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2025 Disability Rights Montana1022 Chestnut Street, Helena, MT 59601 Unsubscribe