The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting all of us as the virus sweeps across Montana, our country and the world and is disrupting our lives and daily routines. We are all being asked to do our part to “flatten the curve” and practice “social distancing.”
To do our part, Summit Independent Living has closed all four of our offices as well as BASE and The Refuge to in-person and walk-in appointments. Summit has also suspended all in-person classes, social activities, support groups, and other gatherings. All Summit offices, including BASE and The Refuge, will remain closed and all in-person appointments and gatherings will remain suspended until it is safe to resume such activities. Managing the health and safety of our staff as well as our consumers is a top priority of Summit and we appreciate your understanding during this time.
Despite all in-person services being suspended, Summit is still able to provide services to anyone in need via telephone or email. Summit has also recently implemented Zoom, an online collaboration tool, to be able to meet with individuals via videoconferencing as well as conduct online activities, classes, and meetings for groups. If you need Summit services, or if you’re just feeling isolated and need someone to talk with, please call our main office in Missoula at 406-728-1630, our office in Hamilton at 406-363-5242, our Kalispell office at 406-257-0048, or our Ronan office at 406-215-1604. To email a Summit office, please use the contact form on our website at www.summitilc.org/contact.
We are in the process of designing some online activities and classes but have not yet finalized what those will look like or when they will occur. Once we have finalized and scheduled these, we will post notice to our website at www.summitilc.org as well as send out a schedule via email to Montana Centers for Independent Living (MTCIL) action alert recipients in Summit’s service area. If you would like to receive notice of these activities and/or classes in your email inbox and you are not yet subscribed to the MTCIL action alert listserv, please go to www.mtcil.org/become-an-advocate to register. Also, be sure to check Summit’s and BASE’s Facebook pages for activity/class schedules or, simply call one of our offices to inquire further. We hope that these online activities/classes will help to reduce the loneliness and isolation that people may be feeling due to following self-isolation and social distance protocols now in place.
