A rotting wooden ramp, sidewalks that were too small to fit his power chair and struggling to safely leave his home are some of the many reasons why Richard was seeking options to install a new mobility ramp for his home.
Richard has been living in his home since 2007, and has been using a power wheel chair to safely navigate around and through his home. However, the wooden ramp that was already installed on his property was becoming increasingly unstable — the wood was rotting, it was not ADA compliant making it too steep, the railing was deteriorating, and the sidewalks leading up to the ramp were too narrow.
“I got caught when the wheels went off a couple of times, and they wouldn’t come back on,” Richard said. “So I would be stuck until somebody could help me.”
As a disabled veteran living on a fixed income, Richard struggled to find ramp options that were affordable for him, keeping him in an unsafe position to leave his home.
“It’s unbelievable,” Richard said. “I had some estimates that were just outrageous.”
However, once Richard stumbled across Habitat for Humanity of the Mid-Willamette Valley’s Repair Program and qualified, little did he know that once construction began to put in a new sidewalk and ramp for him, it would only take 4 days.
Part of Habitat’s Repair Program utilizes volunteers to help with home repairs. For Richard’s home, volunteers were busy taking out the old ramp, mixing and laying concrete to widen his sidewalk, and ultimately, installing the new aluminum ramp.
“There’s room to turn around out there, and there’s room to turn around on the sidewalk,” Richard said. “I’m really happy, the volunteers did a great job. They were just very professional.”
From rotting wood, to shining aluminum, Richard finally has a ramp that can accommodate his wheel chair. Now Richard can seamlessly go through his front door to grab the mail, run errands, and most importantly feel safe while leaving his home.
“I was thinking you guys wouldn’t be able to do this,” Richard said. “But I thought, well, it’s worth a shot and then you guys came back and it all seemed to work. I just wish I would’ve discovered you guys sooner, because I would have loved to volunteer every once in a while.”