Disabled people who need a scooter, a hearing aid or some other device to help them out now have $50,000 of extra assistance available.
The Jones Trust and the Kansas Assistive Technology Cooperative have begun a grant that splits the cost of devices for the disabled. To qualify, a disabled individual must live in Lyon, Coffey or Osage County, be at 300 percent or less of the federal poverty guidelines, and put aside their share of the cost from earned income. That means a person, for example, could not match the grant with SSI funds.
The individual sets aside money into a savings account called an Assistive Technology Individual Development Account. This allows the person to save up until they can meet their share of the cost. The money can be saved for up to five years.
Basil Kessler, who manages the cooperative, said this is the first program of its kind in Kansas.
“As an example, an individual who is diagnosed with a muscular disorder might be told that down the road, they’ll need a scooter,” Kessler said. “An average scooter costs about $3,000. With this, they can arrange for two years to set aside their part, with the other $1,500 picked up by the grant.”
The money is provided by the Jones Trust and managed by the cooperative. Kessler said he’d like to see the grant’s assistance last about two years.
“It depends on the number of people helped and the nature of the help,” he said. “We don’t know what their conditions will be.”