Document Type

Research Report

Publisher

RTC:Rural

Publication Date

9-24-2025

Disciplines

Demography, Population, and Ecology | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Sociology

Abstract

The disAbility Resource Center of North Carolina (dRC) has served the Cape Fear region of NC since 2008. The dRC holds to the philosophy that every individual has the right to maximize their abilities, live as independently as possible, and participate fully in their community. In rural NC, the delivery of formal support requires informal trust across people, places, and organizations. In this sense, dRC is a trust broker, facilitating relationships between informal rural support networks and the network of public and nonprofit service providers in the area. dRC does this through being embedded in rural places, earning trust person by person, and community by community, allowing them to reach people and organizations often invisible to larger agencies. RTC:Rural researchers explore how dRC’s participation in this rural outreach training helped facilitate the growth of dRC’s network of rural partnerships and consumers.

Keywords

rural, disability, independent living, self-advocacy, rural outreach, rural collaboration, rural partnerships, rural community living development

Rights

© 2025 RTC:Rural

Granting Agency

National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR)

Acknowledgement

The contents of this report were developed under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number 90DPKT0005). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this report do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, or HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

Project Number

90DPKT0005

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