When I got divorced I was very lucky and found an apartment around the corner from where my house was. My daughter who was only 7 at the time had very little disruption to her school life she just got on the bus one stop earlier. Now with college looming the thought of me moving to a place more disability friendly and with a yard for my dogs became the hot topic. My daughter was distraught though, to her this is her home. She didn’t want me to leave and cost wise it didn’t make sense to go somewhere else but we had to address problems, the steps. I have two sets of steps. One has 6 steps then a landing followed by 8 steps. To get a wrap around stairlift would have cost over $10,000 so I had to get two.  The first one my mother and step dad paid for. We got a refurbished one for the set of 8 steps early this year. It has made a huge difference and helps tremendously. However the first set of 6 steps has started to create too many issues. I couldn’t afford to buy one myself or ask someone to pay for another so I decided to try the MS organizations for help. There are many helpful organization that can help to keep you at home.

POSSIBLE ADDITIONAL FUNDING SOURCES
NOTE: ALL WILL REQUIRE CONFIRMATION OF MS DIAGNOSIS FROM
MEDICAL PROVIDER AND QUOTE FOR ITEM OR WORK TO BE DONE

National Multiple Sclerosis Society 800-344-4867
(nationalmssociety.org)

MS Foundation 888-MSFOCUS (msfocus.org)

MS Association of America 800-532-7667
(mymsaa.org)

Bike the U.S. for MS Send App By Mail
(biketheusforms.org) Bike the U.S. for MS
Use NMSS Application P.O. Box 10001
Blacksburg, VA 24062

MS Hope Foundation 424-646-3867
(getmshelp.org)

Patient Advocate Foundation 866-512-3861
Co-Pay Relief Program
(www.copays.org)

United Way –
(unitedway.org)
Center for Independent living:

Directory of Centers for Independent Living (CILs) and Associations : Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU)

Infinitec’s

Home Modification – How to Pay for It : Infinitec

Digital Federal Credit Union

Access Loan Program : Digital Federal Credit Union
Offers Access Loans for any product, device, or building modification designed to assist someone with a disability. Qualified applicants may obtain loans for 100% of the purchase amount, from $1,000 to $25,000 and with terms up to 72 months.

Home Modifications through U.S. Community Development Block Grants may be obtainable with financial assistance.

National Directory of Home Modification Resources : National Resource Center on Supportive Housing and Home Modification (NRCSHHM)

and

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Programs : HUD

Your state, county, and/or local government may have funds through this federal grant program to help with the cost of home modifications. Contact the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to inquire if funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) in your area is available for home modifications. The wording from the HUD site is: “Some local housing agencies utilize portions of their CDBG program to pay for various kinds of home modifications. To contact your local CDBG grantee, call the US Department of Housing and Urban Development at (202) 708-1112.”

 

i received $400 from the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation  and $1500 from the Multiple Sclerosis Society towards the second stairlift. I’m waiting on one other application to the MS Bike Grant. There is money out there to help us so don’t be afraid to reach out to these various groups.