(Seguin) –- A statewide program that has a very active chapter in Guadalupe County is turning to you for some help in continuing its mission to “build freedom for the homebound.” The Texas Ramp Project is in dire need of more financial support as the request for ramps continues to grow in the area.
Kay Geurin, the TRP coordinator for Comal and Guadalupe Counties — San Antonio/Northeast Region, says for years, groups of volunteers have set out to “provide free wheelchair ramps to low-income older adults and people with disabilities, so they can safely exit and enter their homes.”
“It has grown all over the state of Texas and what their mission statement is – is that we build wheelchair ramps for people in need and that means a physical need. Either they can’t stand up, walk, they are wheelchair bound, on a walker and in addition to the physical need, they have to have what we call financial need and what that means is they couldn’t afford to have a ramp built,” said Geurin.
There are currently five build teams operating regularly in Guadalupe County. Geurin says while the county’s Texas Ramp Project is not short on volunteers, it could use a few more dollars in making sure that whoever needs a ramp, gets one.
“We look at any kind of donation as a gift. The problem has been the last five years or so, the cost of lumber has just skyrocketed so we weren’t in this situation but the last maybe five or six years. Fifty dollars will buy enough screws to build two ramps so anything like that would be good. Maybe a couple thousand dollars from a foundation, that’s a good thing. That builds two ramps and as time goes on and if we get steeper and steeper in debt, there has to be a consideration of the length of the ramp. I mean if we’ve only got $2,000 to build with, we can’t’ build a 50-foot ramp. It’s just not going to work. Really and truly, I try to make sure we help as many people as we can,” said Geurin.
TRP takes pride in building each ramp without government funds. As a volunteer-based organization, it relies on donations and charitable grants. Geurin says most dollars given go directly into the actual ramp.
“We do all of our work with volunteers so any donations that are made goes to buying materials or any other costs like if we have a warehouse, we do make a payment toward the utilities on that but that is the only expense that we have,” said Geurin.
Despite the growing struggles with funding the project, Geurin says the group works very hard to address the need here locally.
“For Guadalupe County since the first of the year, we have had 46 referrals. Now, of those 46 referrals, we’ve built 24 ramps as of today and we have six cases pending and those have just come in at the beginning of August. It usually takes a few weeks before we can get a team put together, go out and do the survey and go out and build a ramp,” said Geurin.
Geurin says unfortunately, the number of referrals continues to grow. She says to be considered,
A healthcare or service agency representative must be directly involved in the referral process for an application to be accepted. TRP volunteers says this is to ensure the medical prognosis and the financial needs are valid.
“Referrals come in statewide and then the home office, they divide it up by counties usually, so I get the referrals, and I look into them and what we do is we look and see what the condition is. Are they in hospice? If they are in hospice, well, we certainly do make that a priority. Are they having to leave to go for any kind of regular treatment like a lot of people on dialysis have to go like every day for some type of treatment. Well, they are a priority and of course, we look at other things involved to see if they need to move to the top of the list but most of the time, we build the ramp according to the date that the referral is made. So, we try to get out as quick as we can, “said Geurin.
Geurin has been an active part of the organization for the last 15 years. After retiring from the state of Texas, she had the desire to do something where the hours she donates really made a difference. Despite not having any carpentry skills, Geurin says she knew quite quickly that this program is where she needed to donate her time.
“A quick story about what sold me — we went up there to build a ramp and it was for a child and this child could not even stand up. He just pulled himself with his legs and hands around on the floor. So, we were building the ramp, and I was learning how to put the uprights on the handrails, and he was sitting at the door. It was a mobile home. So, I looked at him and said, ‘wow, what do you think about all this going on?” And he looked me in the eye, and he said,” ma’am you don’t know how much this means to me. I’m going to be able to go out with my brothers and sisters now.” Oh, my goodness! Whoa! Now, that sold me right there. I thought, nope, this is what I’m going to do. This is what I’m going to do,” said Geurin.
Those wishing to make a donation are asked to visit
https://texasramps.org/donate/ . Information on requesting a ramp can also be found at https://texasramps.org/request-a-ramp/ .
Since 2006, over 27,800 ramps have been built in the Lone Star State. The Texas Ramp Project serves residents in 132 counties.