Buzzards Bay Area Habitat for Humanity (BBAHFH) is seeking metal wheelchair ramp donations for their Ramp Donation Program. According to Executive Director Christine Lacourse, “When we first started our Ramp Donation program last year, we were not sure what the need for ramps would be here on the South Coast. Turns out it is huge. There are so many people that need wheelchair ramps but cannot afford them, so they go without and live in unsafe conditions. Our Ramp Donation program is transforming people’s lives who need our help.”
BBAHFH has installed nineteen ramps to date this year for elderly and disabled individuals. “We have spoken to several people who have not left their home for a year or more because they could not get down their outdoor stairs,” explained Lacourse. “Some could only leave if the police or firefighters could come carry them down the stairs. There were times they missed important meetings or medical appointments because they literally could not leave their home. What a difference a ramp can make for an individual and their family.”
Ramp recipients have ranged in age from 17 to 95 years old. As one recipient’s daughter enthused after her 72-year-old father got a ramp, “He can now get safely in and out of the house without falling down the stairs or someone having to go over to help him. He has so much more quality of life. He can sit outside on the front bench or the lawn, instead of being stuck inside and getting depressed. We’ve noticed a huge difference in his attitude.” According to the daughter of another ramp recipient, “It is so very helpful to have a ramp, and now we can get our father to dialysis. It has been so beneficial, and we are so very thankful.”
BBAHFH formally introduced the Ramp Donation program last year giving low-income homeowners the accessibility they need to remain safe in their homes. Ramps are expensive, often needed on short notice, and frequently needed only temporarily. When a family no longer requires the ramp, it is picked up by BBAHFH and then loaned to another low-income family in need. The Ramp Donation program helps those with existing accessibility issues, temporary injuries, or those who are checking out of a rehabilitation facility with hopes of returning home.
Through ramp donations and purchases, BBAHFH has built an inventory available that can be loaned out and installed by volunteers when needed by a family. BBAHFH is running this program throughout Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett, New Bedford, Rochester, Wareham, and Westport, and ramps are installed at no cost for families. This project is funded in part by grants from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and the Executive Office of Aging & Independence and Coastline Elderly Services, the Area Agency on Aging, through Federal Title-III funds.
BBAHFH is currently looking for ramps to help additional families, as well as low-income applicants in need of a ramp. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, ramp donations are tax deductible per the IRS code. In addition to tax deductions, donors benefit from the removal of the unwanted ramp and can feel good about helping another in need.
For more information on BBAHFH’s Ramp Donation program, contact BuzzardsBayAreaHabitat@yahoo.com, or call 508-758-4517. Tax-deductible donations to support the program may be made at www.BuzzardsBayHabitat.org or by sending a check to BBAHFH, P.O. Box 1584, Mattapoisett, MA 02739.