Volume 17 Number 3 • 2004

MONTANA CHOICE: the Local Perspective

The Rural Exchange recently interviewed four of the Montana Choice project staff in local Workforce Centers. Below are their comments about the differences Montana Choice is making in the lives of people with disabilities. Contact information for them is at the end of this publication.

Bob Nichols, Hamilton

Montana Choice has been a "positive and fulfilling experience" for Bob Nichols. The surprising trend he has noticed is the number of people with disabilities opting for self-employment. "Sixty percent are choosing self-employment and the Montana Choice grant makes it possible for people to buy equipment and pay for training" they need to start their businesses. The project helps "put the various pieces of the puzzle together to help them pursue self-employment."

Another surprise is the number of people "buying computers or getting training. Over 50 % are pursuing some use of technology to meet their employment needs. This has merged nicely with the work Frank Odasz at Lone Eagle Consulting has done on the project. We had over 100 people attend his initial workshop."

Dave Coleman, Butte

Dave Coleman serves people in a ten-county area of south-central Montana. "I've had a lot of windshield time" on the project. He feels Montana Choice makes a "huge difference in lives of participants." He was working with several people who were frustrated with the traditional rehabilitation funding process. In one case a woman was trying to set up a greenhouse. Once she qualified for the Montana Choice project, "we had the items she needed purchased the next week for her." Another person "simply needed snow tires and business cards." She was amazed at "how fast it was for her to get funding. The transformation in a person's life is truly remarkable and a humbling experience to a program manager for this project."

Richard Clautu, Hamilton

Richard Clautu likes to tell the success story of a top-of-line-cabinet maker he has worked with. "This man sought help for a couple of years to get a business started and he ran into brick walls." Clautu got a list of equipment the man needed. "Before he got the equipment, he had a contract with a store to build counters. He is very self-motivated and a go-getter." He is doing quite well, pleased with the speed of the program and response to his needs. "His success is important to me because I see a man who is at wit's end and he finds a program that can help. He goes from living on SSDI to providing a better living for his family, which is what the majority of people with disabilities are shooting for."

Ron Rides at the Door, Cutbank

Ron Rides at the Door likes the Montana Choice program because "it is a perfect fit for the way I do things in my life—with sincere passion and commitment. It provides services that are direly needed." Due to the hard work of everyone involved, people can overcome a lot of challenges they may have experienced with other rehabilitation programs. "We work with individuals and find out what they want to do, not what the program wants them to do, and mold that job or training or self-employment around the individual and what they want to do. This helps them accomplish their dreams." The program has also helped expand on the network and partnerships that bridge the gap in financing the small entrepreneurs and in getting training from them. "By networking with Vocational Rehabilitation, we are able to fully capitalize the small business so they have a better chance of succeeding without a heavy debt load."