While you may not have to deal with the daily struggles of living with a disability, it’s a reality that many face each and every day.

Most non-disabled individuals will never fully know the depth of the challenges that a disabled person and their family face, but understanding just a portion of it is a big part of why we do what we do here at All Things Possible.

Transportation Struggles

A few years after we founded ATP, we were overwhelmed by requests for wheelchair vans and funds to purchase them. We discovered that there were no organizations anywhere that helped families attain these important vehicles, and insurance does not cover most types of mobility equipment, so families are left to figure it out on their own.

When we shifted our focus to providing wheelchair vans, we had no idea how big the need really was. Not only do we get countless requests for these vehicles, but as we’ve gotten to know the families applying for help, we’ve come to understand part of their struggle and why it’s so significant.

Non-Accessible Vehicles and Safety

For a family without a wheelchair van, the next best case scenario is that they have another vehicle they can travel in. However, if it’s not wheelchair accessible, the disabled individual needs to be lifted into the vehicle. While this may sound feasible for younger children who don’t weigh a lot, some of the disabled people we’ve gotten to know are teens and adults who are permanently in wheelchairs. In most cases, the mom is the one moving the kids into the vehicle, and it’s simply not safe or possible for some moms to lift their disabled children into the car.

Even if they can get their child into a vehicle, then the child needs a safe seat and proper restraints. One mom shared a story of her son with cerebral palsy. Since he had very little muscle tone and no way of stabilizing himself in the vehicle, a sudden stop resulted in him sliding out of his buckle and onto the floor of the car. This isn’t safe and it isn’t okay for families to have to deal with things like this.

Public Transportation Woes

If a family doesn’t have a vehicle or cannot get their child into it safely, their only option is to take public transportation. In a perfect world, this would be fine. But if you’ve ever taken public transportation anywhere, you know it’s often less than ideal. Buses are late, they break down, and they’re often full. Sometimes, wheelchair-accessible buses will simply not show up to certain stops. One family we met shared with us how their 18-year-old son has a disability that sometimes causes abrupt arm movements. He was in a wheelchair and looks like an adult, and his abrupt movements made the driver nervous. They did not let this family on the bus for fear of him hurting other passengers, causing him to miss an important doctor’s appointment.

Appointments and Healthcare Needs

Kids with disabilities often have many appointments to attend each week. Between regular checkups, physical therapy, speech appointments, and more, transportation is extremely important for their overall wellbeing and quality of life. Additionally, having reliable transportation can be hugely significant if they have a medical emergency at home. While calling an ambulance is an option for some, it’s not always fast enough. An ambulance can take 20-30 minutes or more to arrive, and some people may live even farther from a hospital, meaning it would take even longer. If a family doesn’t have reliable transportation to get their disabled child to the hospital in an emergency, it can truly mean the difference between life and death.

Quality of Life Trips

When we begin the process of gifting a wheelchair van to a family, we often ask the children where they want to go first. Rarely is it somewhere extravagant. The most popular responses we get include Walmart or the grocery store. These kids have struggled with mobility, many of them for most of their lives, and they simply want to feel like regular kids. They want to run to the store with Mom to pick up dinner, or they want to go to Walmart to look at toys. These are the simple things these kids are seeking that are made possible with wheelchair vans.

Additionally, some of these children have missed out on important things in their lifetimes due to their lack of transportation. Some kids have never been to their grandparent’s house. Others have never seen the ocean or gone to see Christmas lights. These children are longing for some form of normalcy, and their parents are desperate to give it to them.

These are just some of the day-to-day struggles that bring about the immense need for the funding for wheelchair vans. These stories and these struggles are our “why.” They’re what make us keep trying to find new donors, raise funds for more vans, and serve more families in need. If you would like to be part of our mission, reach out to us today.