Some Good Samaritans will come together to build wheelchair ramps for a Langley woman, after a provincial program ran out of funding to help her.
“I think it’s awesome,” Jean Moulton said. “There are some nice people that are out there.”
Moulton reached out to the Langley Advance last week after she was denied funding from the Home Adaptations for Independence (HAFI) program, run by BC Housing.
The reason for the denial was simply that by the time Moulton got her required paperwork and home inspections done by the end of August, the $5 million program had run out of money for the year.
Moulton, who lost one arm and one leg to blood clots following a workplace injury, had moved to a manufactured home in Brookswood this spring from a second-floor apartment. She was hoping to find a safer place to live – one where she wouldn’t be trapped if the elevator shut down.
Instead she found herself waiting and waiting for funding that didn’t come. The next applications for a HAFI-style program won’t be until spring of 2019.
READ MORE: Lack of government funding leaves Langley double amputee struggling
Moulton has spent the past few months struggling up and down four steps on her home on a prosthetic leg. Wheelchair ramps will make her safer and more self-reliant, she said.
After her story appeared online, Daniel Fedosenko of Mr. Home Inspector and contractor Shawn Reid saw the story and decided to help out.
The two have already been out to Moulton’s home to measure it, and they are now assembling supplies – many of them donated – and a large pool of volunteer labour.
“We’ve got about 15 guys who want to come together,” Fedosenko said.
It won’t cost Moulton a thing, he said.
It’s a huge relief for the Langley woman, who will soon be able to use a scooter or wheelchair to get in and out of her home.
She said she hopes this also raises awareness of the many other people around B.C. who need help with accessibility and can’t afford renovations.
“I’m sure there was a lot of other people besides me who got cut off too,” Moulton said.
She’s also meeting with Langley MLA Mary Polak this week about the issue.
“I was just glad that it got the exposure, not just for me, but for everyone who’s in the same situation,” she said.
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