Active Re-Entry

Active Re-Entry Office in Price Utah

East Utah is a large area with many miles between cities. Active Re-Entry has a daunting job in providing Independent Living Programs to the area. With offices in Price, Vernal and Moab, Active Re-Entry is committed to promoting the rights, dignity and quality of life for all persons with disabilities.

“Transportation is a huge issue in rural areas,” said Louie Santillanes, the Assistive Technology ADA Specialist, about the National Demonstration Project acquired by Active Re-Entry in Price Utah. “Different agencies volunteer their vans for transportation over the mountain to Provo (Utah).”

The goal of the National Demonstration Project is to help meet the transportation needs of people with disabilities in rural areas, further their own independent living goals, enable full participation and to evaluate the effectiveness of accessible rural transportation options. 

The consumer-controlled program, called “Traveler’s Cheque” incorporates car pools, ride-share, paratransit and taxis to increase the transpiration options for people with disabilities. The Traveler’s Cheque program is in a demonstration phase held by only ten Independent Living Centers in an assortment of rural communities throughout the country. There are over 200 Centers for Independent Living, which serve rural areas in the United States that may benefit from better rural transportation.

In October of this year all the Centers for Independent Living in Utah will begin to coordinate a grant to allow people in nursing facilities to transition to a community setting. Utah was one of only five states to curate the Nursing Facility Transitions Independent Living Partnership Grant.

Louie Santillanes

People in Utah, precisely as people all throughout America, would prefer to live in their own home rather than in an institution. The Utah Transitions Grant is a positive step for Utah; however, people all across the United States make evident the need for national Medicaid reform; like MiCASSA. 

Along with transportation, rural communities also have unique dilemmas that arise from people with disabilities in the agricultural community that are working for independence. Active Re-Entry provides a program that aims at the specific needs of individuals doing farm work. The AgrAbility Program is part of a national focus to meet the unique needs of the agricultural community to live independently. 

One of the system advocacy successes in east Utah is teaching the good sense and value of automatic door openers. The public library had a reasonably compliant door, yet some patrons still criticized the difficulty to use it. The director of the library had ruled out an automatic door opener, thinking that the price would be restrictive. Working with Active Re-Entry; however, the library found that automatic door openers were sensibly priced and provided quality access to all patrons. The superintendent of the schools was also swayed by the common sense of automatic door openers and now they are provided in all the schools.

- Tim Wheat