South Dakota's Disabled American Indians Get Help from Merged Groups Story-Date: 01:50 p.m. PST Sunday , August 24, 1997 South Dakota's Disabled American Indians Get Help from Merged Groups BY SARAH TRIMBLE-CUNY, INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY, RAPID CITY, S.D. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News WINNER, S.D.--Aug. 25--Two programs serving all nine South Dakota tribal nations are helping to ease the burden of American Indian people with disabilities. ``We've come together to share one vision to help American Indians with disabilities,''said Marla Bull Bear, the executive director of the Native American Advocacy Project (NAAP) and Tateya Topa Ho (TTH). NAAP and TTH have merged to strengthen the commitment to the Oyate. NAAP/TTH provide four core independent living services and includes independent living skills, information, referrals, advocacy and peer support. NAAP/TTH are also seeking to provide a unified mental health code for all tribes to follow with the help of a grant from the Bush Foundation. They are working with tribes by sharing information and making suggestions. Each has a liaison in South Dakota which includes the Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota tribes, and provides independent living services to American Indian people who have developmental, physical, mental and neuro-biological disabilities. The services include referrals, technical assistance, peer support, and living care specialists to help them adapt to living independently. NAAP/TTH provides education and training for families of people with disabilities providing additional support for clients. The two organizations help those needing ramps and adaptive devices. ``We don't tell them what they need, we provide them with the information to make choices to decide what they need and support their decisions,''said Ms. Bull Bear. ``They are gentle people who need understanding, hope, and unconditional love. They are good people,''said Claudette Sabor, who has a family member with a mental disability. Ms. Sabor, who has trained to be a facilitator for support groups, believes there are still stigmas attached to the disabled and mentally ill. People in the communities mustget past the stigmas and help people with disabilities because anything can happen. ``It could happen to you in a split second. You could get into a car accident. I advocate understanding because it could happen to anybody,''said Ms. Sabor. More than half of those serving on an 11 member board which oversees the two organizations are people with disabilities. The other members of the board include family members and advocates. NAAP/TTH welcomes volunteers and are seeking funds to help with the costs of providing better accommodations for people with disabilities. For more information, call (605) 842-3977 or 1 (800) 303-3975. ----- ON THE INTERNET: Visit Indian Country Today on the World Wide Web at http://www.indiancountry.com/ ----- (c) 1997, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News. ------------------------------------------------------------