Reaching Rural: Building Connections Using the Rural Outreach Toolkit
Lillie Greiman with RTC: Rural
Session Overview:
In this interactive workshop, attendees will be introduced to the Rural Outreach toolkit. This toolkit evolved out of a collaboration between the RTC:Rural, APRIL and CIL partners across the country to help address some of the challenges that CILs and CIL staff face when trying to build partnerships and serve consumers in their outlying counties and services areas. The toolkit provides information, training, activities and resources across five core topic areas and can be utilized independently or as part of a peer group. In this workshop we will highlight core topics and engage the audience in activities through small group work.
Additional Materials for this Session:
About Your Presenters:
Lillie Greiman
Lillie Greiman works as a Project Director at the Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities (RTC:Rural) and has been with the center since 2012. She works across numerous projects with partners across the country and is passionate about the collaborative work the RTC:Rural does to improve the lives of people with disabilities in rural communities. Her focus areas are: housing, community participation, rural community development and spatial and demographic analysis.
RTC: Rural
The RTC:Rural uses a wide variety of data from large public datasets to help answer questions about the disability experience in rural and urban locations. Most data are at the county level, which allows for comparison between metro, micro and noncore counties across the U.S.
Luke Santore
Luke is a mixed-methods researcher at the Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities. He works on projects related to rural independent living outreach, transportation access, mental health utilization, and personal assistant service workers. His work as a disability researcher is informed by his lived experience with disability, and work experience with people experiencing homelessness and at-risk youth populations.
Rayna Sage
Rayna is a Rural Sociologist and Researcher at the Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities. She focuses her work on improving access to Home and Community-Based Services, social connection, and independent living service outreach for rural consumers. Rayna grew up in rural North Idaho, the daughter of a sawyer and has a feisty and friendly big orange cat named Blue.
Brenda Boggs
Brenda Boggs has served as a Community Integration Specialist and Service Facilitator for the disAbility Resource Center of the Rappahannock in Fredericksburg, Virginia. She resides in Fredericksburg with her son John who has autism and her dog Bailey and cats Butterscotch and Milkshake.
Emily Smith
My name is Emily Smith. I am inspired by my family’s love for helping others. I am an Independent Living Specialist at NWGACIL in Rome, GA, where I graduated from Rome High and met my husband, Daniel. I overcome challenges I face every day, having ADHD, dyslexia, and migraines. In my free time, I enjoy outdoor activities with my son, Chasin, and I love anime and music.
Emily Petersen
Emily Petersen is an Independent Living Specialist with LINC, serving Southwestern Idaho. As a Certified Person Centered Thinking Trainer and ACRE certified Employment Specialist, Emily is passionate about consumer choice through advocacy. She is an experienced community organizer, Partners in Policymaking graduate, President and founder of Idaho Spina Bifida, Board member and former chair of Idaho Council on Developmental Disabilities in addition to countless other committees and boards. Emily’s lived experience as a parent has provided her a unique perspective to support individuals in finding their voice.
Ashlei Shaw-McFadden