Make Your Voice Heard!

What is the Action Alert System?

The 2025 Montana Legislative Session is underway, and your lawmakers are making decisions that directly affect you and Montana’s many disability communities.

Use our statewide Action Alert system to:

  • Stay informed about the bills we’re tracking
  • Search legislation to research on your own
  • Find who your local lawmakers are, and
  • Discover opportunities to take direct action

The Action Alert system is an email listserv and online portal designed to inform you about current local, state, and national issues that affect the lives of people with disabilities.

The Action Alert system is administered by The Montana Centers for Independent Living, which serves as a strong collective voice on a wide range of issues such as housing, employment, transportation, communities, recreation, and health and social services.

Just sign up by clicking the button on the right and we will email you about important opportunities to advocate on behalf of individuals with disabilities locally, statewide, and nationally.

You may also visit the MTCIL Action Alert system website to learn more about our advocacy efforts and to take action on various issues right now.

Now more than ever, we need to join forces to improve and preserve the services that keep people healthy, active, productive, and involved in their communities.

Remember, democracy is a participatory sport. We all have tremendous power to bring about positive change, but only if we get involved, speak out and demand that our elected officials do the right thing.

Our Action Alert system offers many opportunities for you to get involved, follow our advocacy efforts, and look up and contact your elected officials.

Montana Centers for Independent Living Action Alert system
Become an Advocate

We’re Hiring!

Illustration of a man standing behind an office desk shaking the hand of a person in a manual wheelchair. text: We're Hiring! Independent Living Specialist Join the Summit team! Apply now.

Summit Independent Living is looking to fill two important roles to better serve the people of Western Montana.

Independent Living Specialist, Kalispell

Peer Advocate, Kalispell

Interested? Just visit our Employment Opportunities page for more information and to apply.

Who We Are

Summit Independent Living is a consumer-driven, non-residential, private 501(c)(3) non-profit organization providing peer-delivered services that are unique in the world of human services designed to give people with all types of disabilities the tools and resources that are needed to improve independence, self-confidence, knowledge, skills and access to community resources. Summit serves people with all types of disabilities.

Summit provides consumer and advocacy services to residents of Missoula, Ravalli, Mineral, Lake, Sanders, Flathead, and Lincoln Counties as well as works on a systemic level nationally and across Montana to improve the lives of individuals living with disabilities. Summit’s primary office is located in Missoula, Montana and has branch offices located in Hamilton, Ronan, and Kalispell.

We believe that people with disabilities have the right to control their own lives and enjoy the same opportunities as all other citizens.

  • All four mural images displayed at the Allez! alleyway mural space
  • A group who attended the Wine and Cheese event pose for a picture
  • John asks the Camp Horror movie creators questions for a Q&A session
  • Three individuals dressed in incredible clothing from Betty's pose with their fists raised up in power
  • A group from Summit confront staff from Beehive Homes
  • A group of individuals in wheelchairs engage in conversation together
  • The El Cazador food truck is parked at the new Summit building site where a crowd enjoys the Summit 80's Party
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5 For 5 Campaign

NCIL 5 for 5 Fund Centers for Independent Living $500 million for 5 Court Services Advocacy Campaign Logo

Learn More About NCIL’s New Advocacy Campaign, 5 For 5!

The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) is leading a nationwide effort to Congress for $500 million to invest in community living & independence for people with disabilities.

Centers for Independent Living (CILs) (Title VII, Rehabilitation Act, as amended) have been underfunded for decades, leading to individuals with disabilities lacking access to critical services and support!

Many areas in the U.S., especially in rural communities do not have access to a CIL. CILs need more funding in order to expand their service areas to address the unmet needs.

Funding CILs enables individuals with disabilities to live in their homes with their families where they can work, attend school, worship, and participate in other community activities. CILs are hubs of disability information, resources, services, and advocacy. CILs are vital to the whole community. It also creates tremendous savings for taxpayers.

To learn more about NCIL’s 5 for 5 advocacy campaign and to find out how you can get involved, please click here to visit NCIL’s 5 for 5 campaign website.

Services for Individuals

Learn about our services for individuals with disabilities >

BASE

Learn about BASE — our all-abilities social and activity center! >

Community Services

Learn about our work for social change and systems advocacy >

Personal Assistance

Learn about our Self-Direct Community First Choice/Personal Assistance Services program >

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