Rural Community Living Development Peer Mentoring: A Strategy for Sustainable Knowledge Translation
University of Montana
Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities
Rayna Sage, PhD
This project is implementing the Rural Community Living Development (RCLD) peer mentoring program to address the needs of people with disabilities in unserved and underserved rural communities. The project has used a participatory process to develop the RCLD peer mentoring curriculum, which prepares staff at Centers for Independent Living (CILs) to mentor and support other CIL staff to work on rural community living development activities. The mentoring program will connect CIL staff in rural service areas with experienced mentors who are trained to implement the curriculum. The goal of the project is to support CILs in conducting effective outreach and community organizing around rural issues such as housing, transportation, and healthcare.