APRIL Conference 

We will be attending the 26th annual Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living (APRIL) Conference, Oct. 12-16! We are proud to be giving several presentations during this virtual conference, and will be hosting an online vendor table.

We will have a presentation Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 11:30 a.m. Mountain time by Tannis Hargrove and our CIL partners on Facilitating Groups & Online Workshop Delivery.

You may also want to check out Tannis' other presentation on Friday, Oct. 16 at 10 a.m. Mountain time on Expanding Your Consumer Base Using Technology and Online Tools!

RTC: Rural's Rayna Sage and Lillie Greiman will also be leading a workshop Thursday, Oct. 15 at 1 p.m. Mountain time on Strategies for Rural Outreach and Networking that is sure to be great!

Follow the APRIL Conference page to learn more as the conference develops, including finding links to presentations, vendor tables and more!

New Funding Opportunity from the National Paralysis Resource Center for Addressing Social Isolation During the COVID-19 Pandemic

ACL's National Paralysis Resource Center (managed by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation) is announcing a new funding opportunity for organizations and agencies that serve people living with any type of paralysis. A special $300,000 Quality of Life (QOL) grant program was just created to address social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. As we all continue to practice the COVID-19 safety guidelines, we must remember social distancing becomes harmful when it turns into social isolation. The goal of this opportunity is to enhance connectedness of people living with paralysis and their caregivers to their communities in combating social isolation. 

They seek to support programs and projects to:

• Connect isolated individuals and foster engagement and connection (examples may be virtual support groups, online activities to support stress management, online adaptive physical activity and health promotion programs, art sessions, gaming, and more);
• Adapt services or create new services to support family caregivers;
• Facilitate connection through the use of technology (such as increasing Internet access, technology loan closets, and more);
• Provide opportunities for online volunteering;
• Strengthen or build social networks; and
• Provide access to tools and resources to help people remain connected and engaged.

Quality of Life (QOL) grants are federally funded through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living (ACL). Organizations that have previously been awarded a Quality of Life grant in any category may re-apply for funding one year following the close of their grant and notification of grant closure by the Reeve Foundation.

Submit Letters of Intent to QOL@ChristopherReeve.org with the subject line “LOI: COVID-19 Grants.” Selected organizations will be invited to submit a full application.

The National Paralysis Resource Center anticipates awarding six to 10 grants within the range of $25,000 - $50,000. Letters of Intent are due October 13 and full applications are due Wednesday, October 30.

The Foundation is no longer able to provide individual pre-award assistance either by telephone or email. However, they welcome questions about the application process to QOL@ChristopherReeve.org.

Upcoming Workshop Addition

We are excited to announce that we are in the process of transitioning the Working Well with a Disability workshop online, and will be incorporating it into the greater Healthy Community Living program over the coming season!

Please watch for further announcements as this effort continues!

Workshop Reporting

HCL Facilitators should be emailed quarterly reminders - but in case they are going to your junkmail - please remember to fill out reports on any workshops you have completed (using an email of someone - director or facilitator - affiliated with your HCL license).

The form is available online and it is probably easiest to do this right after the completion of a workshop while the numbers of participants and other details are fresh!

These reports really help us know how many people are completing the program, learn ways to improve, and let us show that HCL is benefiting our communities!

The direct link is below, but this form is also available from the HCL Program Licensing Page.

HCL Success Stories

We're interested in hearing success stories from your organization!

Have you had a good experience with consumers after shifting to facilitating HCL remotely? Did you have to learn new tricks to make your workshop successful? Is there something else you would like to share with other organizations about using HCL?

If you have a few minutes to chat with us--let us know! We'd love to share your story - just email healthycommunityliving@mso.umt.edu​ and we will set up a time to talk!