We'd meet folks in local libraries, senior citizen centers, city halls, and churches. Over and over, wherever we went, we showed a ten-minute 16 mm film on our noisy reel-to-reel projector. It was an upbeat disability awareness film titled "It's a New Day" and I never grew tired of it. There was no narration, only a song written and sung by Danny Deardorff about not feeling lonely and running horses and freedom. The music was a backdrop for a showcase of all the latest adaptive equipment and new devices designed to help people with disabilities integrate into the community. From a gal ordering from a Braille menu at McDonald's, to a physician whose wheelchair lifted him to standing height to view x-rays on a screen, it was action-packed, nonstop awareness—a great icebreaker.

We braved blizzards on mountain roads, sunk our car wheels into a foot of mud on a pueblo, ate fry bread and calavacitas with local families, and were privy to some of the most breathtaking landscape on earth.

As years passed and I moved into the director position of my Center for Independent Living (CIL), it always seemed that getting staff out of the office and on the road was a constant struggle. But we did it. We trained peer counselors, wrote employment grants to vocational rehabilitation to help find people jobs, worked with a church to get funding for a lift-equipped van. We even opened satellite offices for a time in Taos and Raton.

I know about rural outreach from experience and the following tips are from others like myself. They're not researchers or consultants—but they are the experts. And there are many more like them, experts at rural outreach who don't necessarily think they are doing anything special. This information is not intend to be all-inclusive, nor is it gathered by any other means than word-of mouth. These are the folks who responded with their ideas to share…from the field. If this information inspires you to want to contribute your input, I invite you to join APRIL's rural independent leadership mentoring list serve at leadershipil@ruralinstitute.umt.edu.

Tips from the Field

Evelyn Tileston
Independent Life Center, Inc., Craig, Colorado

• Hire and train culturally appropriate people.
• Build a relationship with members of the group you want to served prior to offering to provide the services.
• Ask consumers to help you. They may have extensive contacts.
• Show local governmental leaders how you are bringing money into their area.
• Appear at and participate in local functions, always with one or more consumers. Show— don't tell.
• When you need something done locally, find a way to get people involved through them giving you something that they do not need and you do need or have a use for, such as old eye glasses, hearing aids, printer cartridges, etc. Be sure to show how these items fit into the bigger picture and how important they are to you.
• Always write notes of appreciation or thanks.

I proposed to the mayor he start a Mayor's Council on Disability. We would work on ADA compliance, be a clearinghouse on available resources, information and referral, etc. The mayor went for it. (Good thing it is an election year!) Anyway, maybe it would be helpful if each community would propose this to their various mayors and boards of supervisors. It would certainly get the word out and help with public education. Oh, and by the way, the mayor liked it so much that he told me since it was such a good idea, that I could put the council together. Big task, but lots of good experience.

Sandi Meehan
Ogden, Utah

These are some basic ideas, but they worked for me both in Texas/Arkansas and in Hawaii where I did outreach. First, I educated myself about the culture/ethnic background of the people I was serving. Hawaii had a lot of different cultures, but I took the time to get a basic understanding about things such as a male or female-dominated societies and what the roles were. I learned the difference between Chinese, Japanese Samoan, Philippino, and Vietnamese. In order to help Samoans with disabilities, for example, I needed to go through the community leader or chief.

In Texas/Arkansas one of my job duties was to educate law enforcement officers about domestic violence. I rode with them, I ate with them, I even went to their club shooting gallery, and I learned their perspective. Slowly I introduced the concept of a shelter for victims of domestic violence.

I never dressed above any of the people I served. I wore jeans in Texas/Arkansas and ratted my hair and looked like all of the other women in Texas who had big hair. I wore muumuus in Hawaii when appropriate. I dressed with clothing that had sleeves and went below my knees when I worked in and around the Mormon ladies because it was respectful. I sampled food that was placed in front of me because it was respectful. (I refused to eat chicken feet or anything that wasn't dead yet). The point is, my programs were successful because I took the time and effort to understand the people I was there to help. I needed to be creditable before I was accepted.

My program in Hawaii was supposed to peak after three years because I was supposed to have reached a saturation point. This is year-seven and the numbers continue to grow. My predecessors have followed my lead and now serve Guam and Saipan in addition to Hawaii. They have taken their time to understand and slowly introduce themselves into the community.

John Cleech
CIL of Grand Island, Nebraska

When I do outreach in rural Nebraska, I try to respect the people from the area. For example, in many ranch and farm areas, wearing a suit undermines trust. When I visit small communities, I wear jeans and other casual wear. As a person who was raised on a farm, I know that talking knowledgeably about agricultural business gets a foot in the door. I watch the farm markets closely, and I am not afraid to walk in mud (which sometimes one has to do). So I always gain people's trust by talking about things that concern them, and they know I understand their culture and living situation. People in rural Nebraska are self-reliant and proud, so reaching out for help is a difficult process for them. Once they trust you and feel that you genuine, they are open to a lot situations.

Mary Holloway
Resource Center for Independent Living, Osage City, Kansas

Ten Secrets of Success for a
Rural Independent Living Center

1. Become involved in local politics.
2. Have employees who live in the area where they work (not who drive out from urban area).
3. Drive a vehicle that can't get stuck in the mud, can tow another vehicle, and cross over large boulders without needing repairs.
4. Transportation is everyone's problem. Be a solution when you can.
5. Learn who the "big fish in the pond" are. They are important to befriend.
6. It is OK to complain to other rural folks about rural life, but never OK to complain to anyone else.
7. Be more of a value to the community you serve than a drain on its resources.
8. Invite the community to your home. They probably have the key anyway.
9. Remember that people in the community want the best for everyone. Help them achieve that goal.
10. The members of the community will attend your funeral; only you have the power to decide if they cheer or cry at the event.