#RTC:Rural eNews

January 2026

A group of six people sits and watches something. They are a diverse group of people with visible and non-visible disabilities.

A young woman with Down syndrome sits and scrolls through an iPad. She is wearing a yellow sweater. She has brown hair that is pulled back on the top.

Save the Date!

2026 Virtual Policy and Practice Summit: Protecting Access to Rural Community Living for People with Disabilities

Wednesday, May 20, 1:00-3:00 pm

Please mark your calendars to join us for an informative, engaging discussion. More details and registration are coming soon!

Most Popular Publications of 2025

We like to know which of our publications people are reading. So, our Knowledge Translation team compiled a list of our most downloaded recent publications to see what our readers were interested in last year.

If you haven’t read them yet, check out the most popular RTC:Rural publications of 2025:

A young white man in a wheelchair sits at a table and speaks into a computer. He is wearing a blue collared shirt and has short brown hair.

A diverse group of young disabled men poses for a picture together. They are all wearing brightly colored shirts and smiling at the camera.

Most Popular Publication EVER!

Honorable mention goes to A Guide to Writing Letters to the Editor: Expressing Your Opinion to the Public Effectively. This valuable guide has been downloaded almost 8,900 times since we created our digital library in 2014.

We take this to mean that people with disabilities and disability advocates continue to seek guidance on how to express themselves in print. In response, we will create an updated version with links to helpful resources and advice on digital media.

Look for it in summer 2026!

Amy’s Interview on Tea with Lisa

Our training coordinator, Amy Lariviere, recently sat down with Lisa Sistare-Harkins, an Independent Living Advocate at Walton Options in Augusta, GA, to chat about Healthy Community Living! They discuss how to thrive in your community and how the Healthy Community Living Workshops can help you set and achieve your personal goals!

Head to Walton Options’ Facebook page to check it out!

Watch Tea with Lisa here!

A cup of tea with lemon and cinnamon in it sits on a table. The table and cup are both white. The table is covered in dried flower petals.

The Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities (RTC:Rural) conducts research on disability as part of the Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities at the University of Montana.

RTC:Rural is funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) grant number 90RTCP0007 to improve the ability of people with disabilities to engage in rural community living.