When natural disasters strike, many wheelchair users lack access to critical resources and supplies to help with the recovery process. United Spinal Association’s Ready to Roll program provides grants to help wheelchair users rebuild their lives in the wake of natural disasters.
Now, Ready to Roll has been named a finalist for the Anthem Community Voice awards and we need your help to amplify the need for more accessible disaster preparedness and response. The final winners are determined entirely by public support, and voting ends Oct. 30.
The Ready to Roll program is funded through a generous grant from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation. Every year, we provide over $400,000 in funding directly to wheelchair users like Terrell Patterson, who had his home severely damaged in Hurricane Ida.
The hurricane ripped off Patterson’s siding and damaged his roof, floors, and entrance ramp. Patterson says so much work needed to be done to make his home livable again that he didn’t know how to cover it. “When I gave the estimate [to United Spinal], it was a lot, and I didn’t think they’d do that much,” says Patterson. “When they called me back, they told me they were going to take care of the whole renovation. If it wasn’t for United Spinal, I’d probably still be doing repairs. They gave me the hope I needed.”
Whether funding home repairs after major hurricanes or helping with a down payment for an accessible apartment after last year’s wildfires in Los Angeles, Ready to Roll meets wheelchair users where they are with much-needed assistance.
“Many disaster relief programs just aren’t set up to handle accessibility and the unique needs of wheelchair users,” says Matt Castelluccio, interim CEO of United Spinal and a wheelchair user himself. “We started Ready to Roll because we kept hearing from wheelchair users who had nowhere else to turn. With natural disasters expected to intensify and become more frequent, we must continue to expand accessible preparedness and relief efforts.”
Please vote for us today to help us continue this important work!