Welcome to BASE!

BASE stands for home, like in hide and go seek. In life, you have to establish a BASE first, that’s where we come in.

BASE is a program of Summit that came to fruition in collaboration with other non-profits and various artists in the Missoula community.

BASE is an all-ages, all-abilities social engagement and activity center that is meant to be a safe place to explore and display the arts as well as learn self-advocacy and other skills needed for navigating the world around us.

BASE is open to everyone in our community of all ages, interests and abilities. This is your space.

BASE offers a variety of programs aimed at enriching life through the arts as well as assisting individuals in the pursuit of education, employment, and interdependence.

At BASE you can take time to catch your breath. No one can mess with you while you plan your next move. It exists to help you get back in the game and succeed.

BASE Logo

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BASE Programs

All Abilities YogaAll are welcome to participate in our All-Abilities Yoga on Zoom class designed to help individuals maintain and improve body movement and flexibility.

We are pleased to be able to offer this All-Abilities Yoga class in collaboration with Yoga for You – Yoga Therapy.

All-Abilities Yoga will resume following the summer at BASE. This class is FREE and it is open to everyone!!!

For more information about All-Abilities Yoga, please contact our BASE office.

BASEment ImprovEvery Thursday, in collaboration with Missoula’s HomeGrown Comedy, we offer free improv workshops at our BASE location.

The Improv Workshop starts at 5:30 p.m. and goes until 7:00 p.m.

This workshop is open to everyone of all ages and abilities.

Life is inherently improv and the goal of these workshops is to work on and improve your social and improvisational skills while working together and having fun doing it.

Drop in on Thursdays a play a variety of improv games and warm up!

This Program is FREE and Open to everyone!

For more information, please contact our BASE office.

BASE Game Night offers a variety of activities for participants of all ages and all abilities including:

  • Video games
  • Board games
  • Card games
  • Role-playing games
  • Dungeons & Dragons
  • and more

More importantly, Game Night offers individuals a great opportunity to socialize and interact with others who may have similar interests.

Game Night is offered every Thursday from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. at BASE. This event is free and open to everyone!!!

For more information, please contact our BASE office.

Our club logo. Fridays from 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. (class times are subject to change based on participants needs). For more information, visit www.basemissoula.orgBASE Art Club is open to all ages and abilities.

This is a group for beginner artists or for those who like to do crafts or Do It Yourself (DIY) projects. You don’t have to be Picasso just come and have fun and be creative! Supplies will be provided.

BASE Art Club meets every Friday from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. at Summit’s BASE location, located at 725 W. Alder St., #4 (the Old Warehouse Mall) in Missoula.

For more information or to sign up to participate in BASE Art Club, please contact Gavin at our BASE office.

There is no fee.

BASE Film Extravaganza is for individuals who are interested in writing, producing, directing, and editing short films based on your own ideas. No prior knowledge of filmmaking is needed as this workshop includes beginners, intermediates, and seasoned professionals as mentors to help everyone move through the process of film production.

For more information about or to sign up for BASE Film Extravaganza, please contact our BASE office.

BASE TalksBASE Talks is Summit’s BASE podcast, which is organized, recorded, and produced by youth with disabilities at BASE.

BASE Talks features comics, guests with disabilities, and others and discusses various disability related issues, jokes and movies of contemporary times, and more!

For more information, please contact our BASE office

Contact BASE

    Youth Services

    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 as well. These youth focussed 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. Afterall, these are our leaders of tomorrow.

    Services for Students

    We are available to come to your IEP to provide information on community resources that may help for a successful transition.

    In order to run your IEP, it is important to have people there who make you feel comfortable speaking up for yourself and who can be good support if you need help making sure that your needs are being heard. If you don’t know who else to invite, you can call us, and we will help you prepare for your meeting, and be able to be there to help you be successful in communicating your goals.

    Summit Independent Living works with all types of disabilities and ages on finding resources in the community to help them live as independently as possible. For a student in the transition process this may include:

    • Finding accessible/affordable housing,
    • Applying for Social Security, Social Security Disability Insurance, or Medicaid programs,
    • Understanding your benefits and how employment may affect them,
    • Applying for or setting up personal care assistance in your home,
    • Learning how to manage finances or medical records,
    • Independent Living Skills training such as Living Well with a Disability- focusing on goal setting, wellness, and living on your own, and
    • Information and Referral- if we don’t do it here, we will give you the information of someone who can help.

    We understand that the best person to work with a young person with a disability on a barrier or transition issue is another young person with a disability who has been there and done that! YODA is a group of 13-30(ish) young people with disabilities who meet once or twice a month and use each other as resources and work together as a team.

    If you join YODA you can expect to.

    • Meet other young people with disabilities
    • Discover a community and learn about disability culture
    • Have food and fun!
    • Serve others and improve yourself
    • Join a group run by young people for young people

    Come check us out, figure out what we do, and be a part of a community!! Join us in breaking down barriers for people with disabilities while having fun in the process!

    For more information about YODA, please contact Summit or check out our calendar of events to find out when the next YODA meeting is and come join us!

    Services for Schools

    Did you know that people with disabilities hold the record for the longest take-over of any federal building? They invaded the Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) offices in order to get section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act implemented.

    Summit is happy to be able to offer disability history and culture presentations and materials to schools to teach students about disability history and how disability is a civil rights movement. We can gear our presentations towards any audience you want us to present to…whether they have a disability, don’t have a disability, or are a combination of the two. Summit has experience doing presentations for the entire student body, history and government classes, as well as students with disabilities.

    Disability Culture is different than other cultures in that you cannot always learn it from your parents because they may not have disabilities. Learning disability history, culture, and your rights and responsibilities can help students with disabilities feel proud as a person. It can help them understand disability does not make you unable to accomplish your dreams, it just means you may have to go for them in a different way than someone else might. We want to help students understand some different ways to accomplish them, and help them to speak up for their rights and take responsibilities for their future by knowing themselves, what kinds of accommodations they need, why they may need them, and how to run their IEP so that they know you and your team are working towards what they, THE STUDENT, wants.

    Building Advocacy and Learning Leadership Skills is a class that is taught directly in the school. Demand is high so make sure you get us scheduled.

    We would be happy to do the same kinds of inservices for teachers as we do for students. Learn about resources, disability history and culture, and how to include your students in their IEP process and ensure they can be successful in transitioning from high-school to adulthood.

    We can bring in a panel of people with different types of disabilities to talk a little bit about their lives, and how they are people first, and then a person with a disability. These panels also give students the opportunity to ask questions of people with disabilities so that they can better understand the lives of people with disabilities and help students realize that people with disabilities aren’t all that different from them.