Harry, a military veteran, called me for help.  He was concerned he’d have to move out of his home unless he had a stairlift.  The cost of a new stairlift was more than he could afford. At the time, we only had new lifts available, and we offered him a discount, but on his limited budget it was still too expensive. He called me every week for two months asking for help with pricing.  As a veteran who was proud of his military mission to serve and protect others, I could tell it was very difficult for him to ask for help for himself.  It was obvious he was desperate to remain in his home, and upset with his lack of mobility.  But new lifts were not in his budget even with the best discount I could provide.  It was very upsetting to me that I was unable to help this man.

I did not hear from him for a few weeks, and began to wonder what happened. His wife, Margaret, called to tell me that Harry fell down the stairs.  The doctor’s orders were that he could not return home unless they had a stairlift installed.  But the cost of a new stairlift was still too prohibitive.

This prompted me to consider how I might find a used stairlift for Harry.  I learned from a customer that his wife (who needed the stairlift) had passed.  I asked him if he would be willing to donate his lift to a veteran in need.  This customer was an accomplished World War II and Korean War veteran himself and was very happy to donate it to Harry. 

We removed it and reinstalled it, charging Harry only the labor cost.  Because of the kind donation, Harry was able to return to his home. We were honored to be able to help Harry get the mobility equipment he needed to safely return home to his wife.

Harry’s story opened our eyes to the possibilities of donated stairlifts.  We continued to have veterans call for us to connect them with donated lifts.  The demand increased and inspired us to create StairLift for Vets as a business of refurbishing used and donated stairlifts to support our veterans.

The demand has grown quickly, and we learned of donations being offered not only in Minnesota, but across the United States.  It was necessary for us to extend our pickup locations to serve our veterans in other states.  The program continues to expand and grow.  We currently install an average of 1-3 stairlifts per week.

We saw a need in the marketplace that was unfilled because of strict licensing and permitting requirements.  Minnesota state code requires that anyone uninstalling or installing stairlifts must have an elevator license to be permitted and inspected to elevator code.  We started as an elevator company and have decades of licensed experience.

Staying in your own home as long as possible is the goal of everyone.  Because we can supply donated stairlifts to elderly, disabled, or wounded veterans, they are able to remain in their homes, maintaining independence living comfortably with their families.

Today’s technology offers excellent solutions to the difficulty of managing stairs.  Now, StairLift for Vets is here to provide those solutions to our valued Warriors.  We are honored to be of service to those who served us.