A helpful loan

For more than a decade, Maine has offered low-interest loans for adaptive equipment to help people with disabilities live independently. The Adaptive Equipment Loan Program is one of those quietly successful projects that often get overlooked in the hubbub of state government. This one is so quiet that not enough people know it exists.

They should, because since a widely supported bond question began the program in 1988, it has loaned more than $8 million to individuals, businesses and non-profit organizations. Last year, it was named a semifinalist in the national Innovations in American Government Awards. With the addition of $1.5 million from a bond approved by voters in ’98, the program currently has $6.5 million available in a revolving fund to make loans of up to $100,000. Among the requirements for qualifying for a loan are that the money goes to helping at least one disabled person and the borrower show that he can repay the loan. Interest levels are based on a borrower’s income and expenses.

The money can be used for everything from services such as architect or designer fees to wheelchairs and hearing aids. The loans have allowed businesses to install ramps and power doors, reducing barriers to the disabled. Individuals have used the loans for home modifications and for special adaptations to vehicles. For most people going about their everyday lives, the differences are not dramatic — unless you are disabled and the simple act of shopping suddenly goes from arduous or impossible to just one more part of your day.

The program, administered by Alpha One and the Finance Authority of Maine, has made approximately 1,000 of the low-interest loans. But it is likely that there is a greater need than that, especially with all the building renovation work in Maine these days. Supporters of the loans believe more people would use them if they knew about them, allowing the disabled greater freedom of movement and businesses to better serve customers, or in some cases serve customers they could not have served before.

Applications for an adaptive equipment loan are straightforward, and help is available through FAME in Augusta and Alpha One, which has an office in Brewer.