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12/13/98, 1:51 amcst

RAMP It Up!

Contact Information

Deborah Cunningham
Executive Director

Tim Wheat
Coordinator

Pat Artison
Administrative Assistant

The Memphis Center for Independent Living
1633 Madison Avenue 
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 726-6404 v/tty
(901) 726-6521 fax

mcil@mcil.org

Summary

A basic aspect of home accessibility is a practical way to get in and out. A viable exit is also a critical safety concern. Often people faced with making their homes accessible for wheelchairs consider only the least expensive or non intrusive way to ramp steps. Many do not find any reasonable way to overcome common barriers.

The focus of the RAMP It Up! program is to provide a safe and practical ramp that one can use independently. When practical, a level platform at the door, is helpful to allow a person that uses a wheelchair manage the lock and door knob. Likewise, the ramp is most beneficial when it provides entry to the door commonly used by each member of the household.

Input from the consumer is essential to a ramp that will be useful and appreciated. RAMP It Up! endeavors to gain the ideas of consumers and offer advise on what ramp design would best suit their home and living arrangement.

RAMP It Up! designed a custom ramp for each person served. A variation of the U.S. Postal ramp design that is modified to general 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act specifications was used. The main resource for this design, often called the "Little Rock Ramp," was the book BUILDING A RAMP, Consumer Manual on Accessibility, by John W. Henson.

RAMP It Up! developed a concise volunteer building manual to highlight the skills needed to build a ramp. Volunteers were encouraged to take the things they learned to use in building other ramps for community members. The Memphis Center for Independent Living is dedicated to supporting consumer attempts to provide accessible ramps for themselves. MCIL provides BUILDING A RAMP free of charge to consumers.

In the fall of 1997, The Memphis Center for Independent Living was contacted immediately concerning the new program. Because construction was dependent on volunteer labor, consumers added to the programs list were advised they would have to wait until reasonable weather next Spring or Summer.

The RAMP It Up! volunteer strategy was to take advantage of consumer generated volunteer help as well as local volunteer groups and established volunteer initiatives. Volunteers were acquired through The Memphis Volunteer Center, Hands On Memphis, Temple Israel, The Boy Scouts and The United Way of the Mid-South. Kenneth Tonahill provided invaluable assistance on several ramps.

Occupational therapy students from the University of Tennessee in Memphis were utilized by the program. Students were not only able to be involved in a worthwhile community project, but they also got a chance to apply some to the occupational techniques they learned in class.

RAMP It Up! was very concerned with the safety of the volunteers. Even though the volunteer work was demanding, the program can boast of having no significant injuries. Eye and ear protection were made available to each volunteer, as well as work gloves. Basic first-aid supplies were kept at the work sites, yet only a few band-aides were used. A safe work environment was accomplished mainly by having clearly defined goals and plenty of work area.

One of the barriers encountered by RAMP It Up! was that there was no vehicle for the program. All the materials used had to be delivered, therefore, conservation of materials was an issue at every work site to ensure as little waste had to be transported to the next site. In order to limit the waste, careful planning went into each ramp design and only the materials absolutely necessary were ordered for delivery. Scrap lumber that was still in good condition was used to augment the supply of lumber to be delivered.

Construction Highlights

High Point Terrace Ramp

On the back door of rental property, the High Point Terrace ramp included a level platform at the door with a 180 "switch back" to end at the carport. The highlight of this ramp is the very slight turn necessary because the adjacent building is not square with the apartment.

Kingsview Drive Ramp

The challenge in designing this 20 foot ramp was how to overcome the 8 inch threshold at the front door. The dilemma was solved by placing a level platform on the porch and sloping down to a second platform making a 90 turn to end at the driveway. The ramp parallels a sidewalk and includes a step.

Another highlight of the Kingsview Drive ramp was the Mitzvah Day volunteer activity. Temple Israel organized 800 volunteers from around Memphis for different projects, Stephen Poole coordinated the volunteers for the RAMP It Up! project. The Commercial Appeal noted the volunteers work in an article titled "Mitzvah Day dawns with love, radiated good deeds of 800," by David Waters.

Clifton Ramp

The Clifton ramp conserves materials by using the natural slope of the driveway to lessen the overall length of the ramp necessary to provide easy access.

Steel Street Ramp

The Steel Street ramp does not interfere with pedestrian access to the font door. The design includes a level platform at the end of a 20 foot ramped segment. (Line Drawing on the front cover)

Hyacinth Drive Ramp

The Hyacinth ramp is unique because it is completely resting on a concrete foundation. The concrete is not level, making the uprights each a different measurement. This ramp also incorporates a pedestrian step so not to limit foot traffic to the ramp surface.

Kendale Avenue Ramp

The highlight of the Kendale ramp is the conservation of materials used to build the structure and utilizing the existing steps. The ramp splits the front porch steps so that half the access is by the steps and the other half is via the ramp. We were able to end the project with no waste at all.

Trezavant Avenue Ramp

The Trezavant ramp includes a 5 foot by 5 foot level platform at the door and slopes down to a 180 "switch back" to end at a walkway on the side of the house. The highlight of this project was the coordination of volunteers as part of the United Way of the Mid-South's Day of Caring. Without any experience, the volunteer crew finished the ramp in approximately four-and-a-half hours. TGI Friday's Overton Square donated sandwiches to all the volunteers.

Garland and Capital Ramps

The ramps build at the Garland and Capital locations were done on the same day to take advantage of a number of Boy Scouts that had volunteered for the project. The volunteer ramp building manual was used to inform and educate the volunteers for these project, when direction was not available from the project coordinator.

Programs Accomplishments

The U.S. Congress points out in the findings of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act:

"Discrimination against individuals with disabilities persists in such critical areas as employment, housing, public accommodations, education, transportation, communication, recreation, institutionalization, health services, voting and access to public services."

The Memphis Center for Independent Living is dedicated to making sure that no American is denied the rights and protection of this historic civil rights law. Although the RAMP It Up! program cannot claim that it rectifies housing discrimination, everyone served by the RAMP It Up! program must face the "serious and pervasive social problem" of discrimination against individuals with disabilities in some way or another.

The U.S. Congress furthermore found that:

"Historically, society has tended to isolate and segregate individuals with disabilities..."

The Memphis Center for Independent Living is committed to integrating people with disabilities as commonly into our community as possible. The RAMP It Up! program very simply is a step in that direction. Someone clearly needs a way in and out of their home if they are going to join in typical neighborhood endeavors.

Consumers were asked to relate some information concerning themselves and their disabilities on an Exterior Egress Home Modification form.

Although an egress ramp could be provided for an individual with a temporary disability that would require home modification, all of the people served through the RAMP It Up! program had some type of permanent disability. Likewise, Everyone served used a mobility devise. There was an even split, half used manual wheelchairs, the other half used some form of power wheelchair.

The ramps were built on the consumers home. One quarter of the people served rented their home the other 75% owned their home. Of the consumers served, 90% were unemployed.

The number of people in a household ranged from one to six. There was one household of six people [5%] and one household of 5 people [5%]. Households with four people made up 10% of those served, households with three people made up 26%, households of two people were the greatest percentage served [31%], and single person households were 21% of those served.

The incomes of households were compared to the FY 1997 Median Family Income to get limits on low and very low incomes (Appendix Three). For example, a household of 3 persons would be classified as a low income under $30,800.00, and very low income if less than $19,250.00. Two thirds [7 of 11; 63.6%] had very low incomes and the other third [4 of 11; 36.3%] had a low income.

The average age of those served in the RAMP It Up! program is 52.

To determine the ethnic make up of those served in the RAMP It Up! program consumers were asked which category best describes them: Female Headed Household, Asian / Pacific Islander, Hispanic, American Indian / Alaskan Native, Black not Hispanic Origin, and White not Hispanic Origin.

One quarter where female headed households [26.3%]. Sixty-three percent in the program were Black, not Hispanic, and 10% described themselves as White not Hispanic origin. No one responded in the other categories.

Program Operation

In order to get the input of the consumers and their approval of a reasonable ramp design, the programs operation centered around the individual survey made of each home. The coordinator would access the possibilities at each door and relay those ideas to the consumer in a direct meeting or a letter. Most often people desired a design that was not intrusive.

The ramp design that was approved by the consumer was used to determine the materials that would be needed and the number of volunteers required. A target date was set and relayed to the consumer as well as an approximate length the work would take.

The typical project consisted of the materials being delivered the day before the target date. The coordinator cut materials and organized large work areas for specific tasks. On the target date, volunteers were asked to come directly to the work site. Generally the ramp would take about six hours to build.

Building frames was the first task, followed by setting and leveling the platforms. Temporary stays would hold the ramp sections in place while the permanent uprights were secured. The permanent uprights held the handrail above the ramp and below the ramp they supported the ramps weight.

Surface material was added and nailed down before the curbrail was affixed 1½ inches from the surface. The curbrail prevents the smaller front wheels of a wheelchair from rolling off the ramp between the uprights. The handrail and site clean-up were the final tasks of construction.

Program Activities

Included in the following chronology are some special events. One was the Mitzvah Day building project at Kingsview Drive. Stephen Poole organized seven volunteers for this project.

The United Way of the Mid-South Day of Caring was August 15th. ICI Acrylics, Inc. supplied 8 volunteers and TGI Friday's Overton Square donated sandwiches to all the volunteers.

The Garland and Capital Ramps were projects to help young men obtain Eagle Scout.

Conclusion

The first problem RAMP It Up! encountered was not having adequate insurance. The program put off scheduling ramps January through March because of the insurance question. This was cleared up and the program solved the problem by building more ramps through the summer months.

Another problem was communication with the consumers. One individual scheduled to have a ramp built at her apartment was also negotiating with the apartment manager to build a ramp. Only after the materials were delivered to the work site did the RAMP It Up! coordinator learn that plans were already in place to build a ramp for the consumer. This was frustrating because of the loss of time and effort of those in the program, however, the individual did get a much needed ramp.

Everyone that needs a ramp, needs it today. This was a clear weakness of the program that could not react to overcome barriers quickly. Many of the people served complained that they had waited many years to have a ramp for access. Likewise, the program from the start could not keep up with the demand of our community. Experience with organizing volunteers and materials did speed the process somewhat relieving the problem.

The final and most significant problem encountered by the RAMP It Up! project was the childish behavior of the City of Memphis Attorney's Office. In retaliation to an unrelated legal complaint Assistant City Attorney Sarah Hall threatened to deny payment to The Memphis Center for Independent Living if plaintiffs did not drop a justified legal complaint against the City of Memphis. Ms. Hall neglegently and mistakenly identified the program coordinator as a plaintiff in the case.

Obviously the threat of Ms. Hall had no impact on the plaintiffs, however The Memphis Center for Independent Living did not get the contract for the RAMP It Up! project until October of this year. Without clear support from the City of Memphis, the RAMP It Up! program operated through these last months tentative and unsure.

Some things are made very clear by the RAMP It Up! program. First is the continuing need for pragmatic ways to overcome the discrimination faced by people with disabilities in our community. Second is the unyielding determination of The Memphis Center for Independent Living to secure the promises of the ADA despite the odds against them. Finally, the strength of the human spirit and kind outpouring of good nature in the volunteers that give of their time to build a better community for all of us.

Dec. 12, 1998

Tim Wheat

The Memphis Center for Independent Living
1633 Madison Avenue, Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 726-6404 v/tty (901) 726-6521 fax
mcil@mcil.org 

MCIL is a United Way of the Mid-South member Agency

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