February 4, 2025
Mary Anderson, ED
ABLE Inc.
1951 1st Street West
Dickinson, ND 58601
Dear Mary,
Thank you for contacting me regarding ABLE’s purchase of the Sullivan Apartments, in which my daughter, Rachel, has lived and thrived for many years now. I applaud ABLE for taking action to secure this, and other buildings in western ND, including The Landing in Bowman, to serve the disabled community, enabling people to stay near their family and friends, while also providing good jobs for the staff for 40 years now.
I first became aware of the predecessor to ABLE Inc because it began in Bowman, North Dakota, when I had family living on our Slope County farm. Later, because I lived in Dickinson for so many years, I was aware of ABLE Inc. as well. I have a vivid memory of the conversations over these past forty years that were being had among family and friends about funding for these programs and about allowing people with disabilities to live in a setting that best suited their needs, without sending them to remote places like the ND School for the Deaf and others. In fact, I know of one Dickinson State University professor who had a young son who was deaf and, at that time, lived hundreds of miles from his parents. That professor and his family left ND as soon as they could, I presume to a state with services that supported them better as a family.
I also remember the day that President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act. By that time, I was raising two children with disabilities, but I was also working with college professors who were educating a new generation of Special Education teachers and nurses and more. To this day, I can tell you that when I visit my daughter, Rachel, I know the names of her high school classmates, many of whom live and work within the Able Inc organization. “Weaving Lives Together” is indeed a powerful and apt mission statement.
The staff and residents of ABLE Inc. have earned the reputation as the finest in ND, and they all deserve a living wage, with benefits, and the stability of knowing where they will live long term, and who they will live with, work with, recreate with, and thrive with. Not just my loved one, but all of them. At this point in life, I can say that I’ve seen at least three generations who have benefited from these services. One of the passions of ND’s First Lady Kathryn Burgum was to remove stigma. Let’s keep that going in North Dakota by fully funding ABLE Inc and other similar entities that serve ND.
With gratitude,
Lillian Crook
920 Arthur Drive
Bismarck, ND 58501
