Our Five Core Services
Information & Referral
Where can I find help to make an informed choice?Resources you need!
We’ll get you the information you need or refer you to someone who can.
Advocacy Services
Learn your rights & take responsibility for servicesNeed an Advocate?
General advocacy services or referrals to more advanced legal services should you need them.
Peer Advocacy
Who can I work with to help me live more independently?Need Some Support?
Peer advocates are available for individual support and provide helpful tips for daily living.
Skills Training
One-on-one or small group classes and workshopsPromoting Independence
We offer many classes to enhance personal growth and life skills to promote independence.
Transition Services
Any IL services that may help you during a change in your lifeLife is full of transitions
We offer youth transition services as well as nursing home transition and diversion services
Promoting Choices in Self-Direction
Summit offers a wide range of services designed to give people with disabilities the tools and resources they need to improve independence, self-confidence, knowledge, skills and access to community resources. Summit emphasizes self-help and self-advocacy skills, peer support, and the development of needed resources so that people with disabilities can direct their own lives to the greatest extent possible.
We also work at the community level to reduce attitudinal, architectural and communication barriers, combat discrimination, and promote the development of needed resources, programs, and policies. Our ultimate goal is increased independence, economic opportunity, and enhanced quality of life for all persons with disabilities.
For more information on the service Summit has to offer, please scroll down.
Summit’s Consumer Services
Helping Promote Choices in Self-Direction
Summit offers a variety of services aimed at giving individuals with disabilities to lead successful and more independent lives (called “Consumer Services”). Under each of our five core services are a number of services aimed at improving independence, self-confidence, knowledge, skills, and access to needed resources.
Some of these services include assistance with applying for benefits such as Social Security, Medicaid, and others; assistance with understanding what happens to your benefits if you return or go to work and start earning earned income; peer mentoring/advocacy opportunities; classes and workshops on a variety of different topics; youth transition services to assist youth in successfully transitioning from high school into adult life; and more…
To learn more about our consumer services, please click through the tabs on the right.
Summit provides information and referral for local community resources in Western Montana. We can also assist with locating state and national disability -related resources. If you have a question or would like help locating services in the community, contact the summit office in your area.
We offer information and referral services on several different topics, such as:
Summit offers self-advocacy assistance in areas such as dealing with the bureaucratic “red tape” of government programs; securing civil rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair Housing Act and other disability laws; filing appeals when Medicaid, insurance companies, and other service providers deny services; and a wide range of other situations requiring support and problem solving assistance. For more information, you may contact your local Summit office.
Summit provides peer advocacy & support through opportunities for one-on-one and group interaction with others who experience disability.
Summit peer advocates can offer emotional support, a positive role model, practical tips on living with disabilities, and information on community resources. Peer advocates also work on a variety of community and educational activities like school panel presentations, advisory panels/boards, community planning groups, etc.
For information about the Peer Advocacy program, to request the services of a peer advocate group of peer advocate’s or to find out how to become a peer advocate, please contact the Summit office near you.
Summit offers individualized and group training on a variety of topics. If you are interested in participating in one of our trainings or are interested in learning more about the different trainings we can provide, please contact your local Summit office.
Here are a few examples of the trainings we currently offer:
Youth Transition Services: Working with youth, 14-30 years of age, and various transition stages of life. To learn more about Summit’s youth services, please visit our BASE/youth services page.
Nursing Home Transition Services: Working with individuals who currently reside in a nursing home or other institutional setting and who wish to move out into the community
Nursing Home Diversion Services: Working with people in danger of moving into an institutional setting to ensure that they can remain living as independently as possible in the community
Summit offers assistance in identifying and applying for Social Security, Medicaid/Medicare, Food Stamps, energy assistance, and many other benefits you may qualify for. We can also assist you in understanding your benefits so that you understand how they may be affected if your income changes or you return to work.
For more information, you may contact your local Summit office.
This program is designed for people with disabilities who have long-term care needs, have full coverage under Montana Medicaid and want to direct their in-home Community First Choice or Personal Assistance Services. To participate in this program, you must require assistance with personal care tasks or health maintenance activities and be able to manage paperwork and duties required by these Medicaid programs. Eligible persons may also have a family member or other personal representative direct services on their behalf.
For more information, please visit our Self-Directed Community First Choice and Personal Assistance Services page.
Summit’s Missoula office offers Senior Companion one on one matches with other seniors in the Missoula city area.
Senior Companions are retired people who want to give back to their community and especially wish to work with older adults with disabilities who wish to continue to live independently in their homes. The matches meet once per week for up to 4 hours and companions provide a listening ear so that they can give information about community resources and services. Companions encourage seniors to review their choices so that they can make decisions about how to best maintain their independence.
The following are some things senior companions can offer:
If you are interested in Senior Companion Services, please contact our Missoula office by using the form on our contact page or call 406-728-1630.
In addition to all of our other services geared towards providing Montanans with disabilities the tools and resources necessary to lead active, independent lives, Summit is proud to be able to offer a wide range of youth oriented programs. These very youth specific programs are designed to assist youth with disabilities in understanding not only their own situations, but to also help them make sense of the world around them so that they can successfully reach for their dreams and navigate the complexities of transitioning from youth into adulthood. After all, these are our leaders of tomorrow.
To learn more about Summit’s youth services, please visit our BASE/youth services page.
Service Eligibility
Individuals of all ages, with all types of disabilities, are eligible for Summit services.
Information and referral services are available to anyone, regardless of location or disability status, including friends and family, the business community, governmental agencies, and the general public.
Service Area
Summit is headquartered in Missoula with branch offices in Hamilton, Ronan and Kalispell.
Services are available to residents of Missoula, Ravalli, Mineral, Lake, Sanders, Flathead and Lincoln Counties in western Montana.
