Pathways Newsletter
Loan puts family on the road
Garrett Cogger, 21, of Hastings, who has cerebral palsy and is unable to walk, no longer has to miss out on family vacations thanks to a low-interest loan from United Cerebral Palsy of Michigan’s Assistive Technology Loan Fund. The loan allowed his mother to purchase an adapted van with a power lift.
“I felt as if the weight of the world had been taken off my shoulders when I was told the loan had been approved,” says Garrett’s mother, Debra, who replaced the family’s unreliable van with the new one.
Garrett’s brother Nathan described the new purchase as “such a sense of freedom for our family.”
“More than 25 percent of people with disabilities in Michigan have low incomes and cannot afford to buy assistive technology devices outright,” says Linda Potter, UCP Michigan executive director. “The loans make it possible to obtain jobs or improve their quality of life.”
Since purchasing the van last spring, the Cogger family has been on numerous family outings. The van also allows Garrett, who is blind, deaf and nonverbal, to easily travel to medical appointments and social gatherings.
The fund is a project of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth/ Rehabilitation Services, United Cerebral Palsy of Michigan and Option 1 Credit Union of Lansing.
Contact UCP at 1-800-828-2714 or visit the Michigan Loans Fund Web site at www.michiganloanfunds.org for loan applications.
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