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Show Local area considered for disability help network The Vernal-Uintah County area is being considered for inclusion in the National Rural Independent Living Network (NRILN). The NRILN will assist rural communities com-munities in developing a skills and services ser-vices network to provide opportunities for people with a disability or handicapping han-dicapping condition to live more independently in-dependently in rural America. Services Ser-vices will be provided for individuals with a physical, mental or emotional disability. The goal of the NRILN is to establish 500 Community Independent Living Service Delivery Systems in rural America. Each participating community will develop a Community Independent Living Service Delivery System to meet the area's special needs and resources. The system will consist of a group of volunteers who will function as coordinators of services and skills and a group of volunteers and professionals profes-sionals who will provide these services and skills to persons with disabilities. During the first two years of the pro- ject, NRILN staff will establish tne networking system in 20 communities nationwide. Communities will be selected which reflect different topographies and population densities within rural America. Communities with different types of coordinating groups such as libraries, ministerial associations, corner stores, etc., will be selected for participation. There is no monetary cost to the community for participating in the network. All training materials and costs for identification of resources are provided by the project. All the community com-munity must provide is people power, a need, and a willingness of its residents to become involved, according accor-ding to officials. The project will show rural communities com-munities how to use existing resources to establish a community-based network net-work of citizens. This system will allow community members to access a wide variety of resources which can be used for additional purposes. This system will provide individuals who have spare time, skills, and a desire to be active with an opportunity opportuni-ty for involvement in a community-wide community-wide project. The national office of the project will handle all initial training of local citizens and costs for established the program. Communities selected for the network net-work will be linked together by computers com-puters in order to share information and resources. They will also be linked link-ed to the national headquarters office at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky. Dr. Larry Marrs, Project Director, will be in Vernal July 27 through August 2 interviewing community residents, organizations and businesses as part of the network selection process. His visit and appointments ap-pointments are being coordinated by the Uintah County Public Library. Dr. Marrs was a 1959 of Uintah County High School and is the son of the late Rev. H. Wayne Marrs and Mrs. Norma C. Marrs of New Orleans. |