Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities Gifts American Vet with Mobility Chair and Mission


AID Logo FINAL

Striving to remove barriers and advance equal rights and opportunity, Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities is on a mission to improve the lives of those with disabilities.

Opening its doors for immediate assistance, the organization offers support and aid to individuals with any type of physical and/or mental disability. This aid comes in many forms, and can include help with medical bills, funding for wheelchairs, legal counsel, walkers, leg braces, lifts, electronic walking assistors, transportation, assistance with medical bills, and much more.

I know first-hand, because AID was there when I needed assistance.

Does anyone remember when the Americans with Disabilities Act was created with the notion of ensuring that individuals with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else in the country? It seems like most don’t remember, since for the last three decades, Americans with disabilities, like myself, have continued to struggle with violations against their equal rights and opportunities, facing barriers that discriminate against them. Many commercial locations and businesses across the U.S. are not compliant with current ADA requirements or do not accommodate the needs of individuals with disabilities.

I am just one of thousands of Americans with disabilities who struggle each and every day due to various locations being noncompliant with ADA requirements. Being an Army veteran, I attained injuries that led to four back surgeries. This process ended when by doctor gave me a message that would change my life forever — I would never walk again.

Living on a fixed income and relying on my veteran’s status for medical needs is not the vision I had for my life. I live in an apartment complex where the sidewalks are not wheelchair accessible, and without ramps it is very difficult for me to get around. Living in a wheelchair is already challenging, and it makes matters worse when your wheelchair is falling apart. I am fortunate enough to have the help of my son, but I feel bad for him and don’t want to be a burden on his life.

The living conditions at my home are extremely noncompliant and my landlord refuses to fix anything or provide sufficient ramps for individuals like me who need wheelchair accessibility on premises. Even the accessibility throughout my apartment does not meet my needs. But, since I am on disability, it is what I can afford and what I have to deal with, which should not be the case.

In addition to my difficult living situation, I have also dealt with very unfortunate encounters with the Phoenix VA. I have had negative experiences with the people that I’ve reached out to at that location, and have been deeply disrespected as an individual. I have not been given the assistance that I should be rewarded through the program that I am in at the VA. I wish that I had the ability to visit a better VA location, but it’s just not possible since I am unable to drive, and neither is my son.

I was recently fortunate enough to meet an employee at the Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities Foundation, a charitable organization that strives to advance equal rights and opportunity as well as to remove barriers for people with disabilities of all types. As a growing resource for any individual with a disability looking to receive help, they have been endlessly kind and are gifting me with an EZ Light Cruiser mobility wheelchair. They even went to my apartment to fix a broken wheelchair ramp that had been neglected by my apartment complex.

AID’s mission to bring about a wide range of benefits and unparalleled equal access for millions of individuals with disabilities, as well as to cause rapid and widespread compliance across the country is one that I am truly thankful for,  words can’t describe my gratitude. I no longer feel like a prisoner in my own home, and wish for AID to help many others struggling with issues relating to ADA compliance.


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