Are there any charities who provide grants for disabled people?

[ScooterStorage]

My friend is struggling to get her mobility scooter out of her house as there is a big doorframe threshold to get over.

Do any charities provide help for putting something outside to store her scooter in? She is on a limited budget and can't afford to fund it herself.

She has had an OT assessment from the local authority. They can't help as don't help with scooter access or storage.

Is there a charity for her disability?

Scooter access then if she's in a LA house, then they should help, but if it's anything like round here, the waiting list is probably about 5 years long.

Yes, there are charities around. If you were in my local area, then I can point you in the direction of a couple that could do that, but generally it's worth trying the local Help the Aged, Voluntary Support or try asking the largest local church who may have a list of people who could help. As above suggests, sometimes charities for the specific condition can also do grants.

Turn 2 Us has a grants search on their website. You can put in various circumstances and it will bring up what you might be eligible for. Agree worth looking at condition specific charities and also if she works / has previously worked, there are lots of fairly obscure benevolent funds etc that offer grants according to previous occupation etc. Most of these should come up on the Turn 2 Us search though. Good luck!

grants-search.turn2us.org.uk/

@MargaretThursday She is in a local authority house, but they definitely don't help with anything to do with scooters according to the Council OT.
I will look into charities for her disability. Thank you for this suggestion. She has got Osteoarthritis and Chronic Obstructive Airways Disease.

Family Fund? NewLife?

I'm fairly certain that our LA does or at least did do access for some things like scooters because there was a row not very long ago about a ramp that was put in which was considered to be unsafe for people with visual impairments (who also lived in the house). However different LAs do different things and that might have been because it was a communal supported living rather than an individual.
However they do also put in walk in bathroom/wet rooms if needed (albeit with a very long waiting list) in individual houses which I'd have put as a similar type thing.

Could be worth seeing if any local councillors are up for re-election soon and might like to see what they can push for? A nice picture of them looking smug next to a ramp seems to be the sort of thing they like round here 😁

Hope you find someone to do it.

I’m disabled. When I was younger the local lions club helped fund something for me.

@MargaretThursday
Interestingly, my friend has had a wet room put in by the council because of her disability. However, when it comes to alterations to the front access to get the scooter in and out, it's no can do. If she was in a wheelchair, then they apparently would remove the raised doorframe threshold. However, she's not using a wheelchair because she has bought herself a mobility scooter!
I guess my friend could ask the local Councillor or MP to write a letter to the Council about it. Worth a try!

Thank you to each of you who have given ideas for charities to approach. We will look into each one of the suggestions.

@guinnessguzzler Thanks for this. That looks very promising

Local charities such as lions and rotary club.

New life

Also approach local running clubs etc. quite often they run events and raise money for local people and can add your friend to their cause.

Your friend could try Independence at Home.

Family Fund and Newlife won’t be able to help as they only support children and young people

This might seem crazy

However, I saw a video of a lady who lives in Denmark who makes wheelchair ramps out of lego. Lego was invented in Denmark. She has installed several of these ramps into her local shops to provide easier access. Is this something that would help ? Have a look on the Internet. I believe that people donated the lego.

Have a look on the charity commission website. There is a search filter for looking for charities that give grants to individuals. Then start ringing round any that seem suitable.

A novel solution indeed!

Great idea. Will look at this.

I had the same issue. I phoned a local woodshop and they made two timber wedges, one for each side of the step. Brilliant!

You could try these guys:

www.remap.org.uk/

They made some really innovative adaptations for my friend with joint issues to care for her baby.

Thank you both! Food for thought. 😊

Thinking outside the box here but could you contact any local training colleges and ask if they do any projects that give practical experience to trainee builders or carpenters? Local colleges usually give out cheaper haircuts, massages and even dental treatment to give trainees the real world experiences.

Agree that you're more likely to be successful with local charities/branches of people like Lions. A lot of bigger organisations and state ones won't do outside renovations or are very limited in what they can do.

Don't forget Citizens Advice Bureau. Your nearest one will have details about all sorts of little pockets of funding that you won't find on an internet search eg bequests and trusts made by nearby families/parishes etc for specific purposes and/or people living in particular neighbourhoods.

Thank you very much both of you for these extra ideas!

www.disability-grants.org/

There is a number of ramps available on the market, which may address the threshold issue. One such company:

www.therampfactory.co.uk/

An alternative is a waterproof cover, external socket and a fixing point to attach a lock to. (Like a motorbike)