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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-06-26 Correspondence - Disability Rights MT - What a year!!!From:Disability Rights Montana - Growth Rings To:Bozeman Public Comment Subject:[EXTERNAL]What a year!!! Date:Monday, December 29, 2025 7:06:15 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 Every paid subscription supports Disability Rights Montana’s work across Montana. Federal funding is nowhere near sufficient to meet the advocacy and culture change work that is needed. You can help fund the future you want to see! What a year!!! We've done a lot together and I am excited about what we can work onnext. READ IN APP Dear friends, This was a big year for disability culture in Montana! And I am writing to ask you to donate to support the continuation of this work in 2026. Donate to DRMT This weekly newsletter offers a lot of words, but I want to assure you it is all backed by daily action. Here are some highlights of what we have accomplished DEC 29 this year: Filed four statewide systemic lawsuits, including two we have already won - one that doubled the years of high school students with disabilities receive and another that stopped a plan to strip money from schools that students attending public school need to succeed. Protected voting rights in both the courts and legislature for people with mental illness, dementia, and developmental disabilities, both in institutions and in the community. Monitored over 100 disability service sites, several schools, dozens of assisted living facilities, and dozens of government buildings to ensure legal compliance and safety, and expose concerning practices that strip people with disabilities of their power and choice. Led advocacy alongside a statewide coalition that successfully pressured Montana’s Attorney General to withdraw a dangerous attack on Section 504, the nation’s oldest disability civil rights law. Engaged with 87 bills during the legislative session, creating a first-in- the-nation dementia/mental illness community care law to divert people from the failing state hospital into new community based settings, defeating efforts to restrict voting rights and housing access, and helping pass Medicaid expansion. We did all this while facing unprecedented financial pressure. Now, we need your help. Your donation will help us: Reload with more litigation; Rebuild our advocacy workforce; Continue fighting for justice in schools, hospitals, prisons, and neighborhoods across Montana; Develop a Disability Community Center in our state capital to serve as a local, state-wide, and regional incubator of disability culture and leadership; and Support disabled Montanans build their policy advocacy skills prior to the 2027 legislative session through the state-wide collation, The Collective Disruption. We literally cannot do this without you. Your gift fuels storytelling, organizing, and systemic change led by disabled Montanans for all of Montana. It helps us move beyond compliance and toward collective liberation. Donate now to help us close the year strong and march boldly into 2026. Donate to DRMT With gratitude and solidarity, David Carlson Executive Director, Disability Rights Montana You’re currently a free subscriber to Life Beyond Compliance. Upgrading to paid subscriptions supports Disability Rights Montana’s work across Montana. Federal funding is no where near sufficient to meet the advocacy and culture change work that is needed. You can help fund the future you want to see! Upgrade to paid LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2025 Disability Rights Montana1022 Chestnut Street, Helena, MT 59601 Unsubscribe