MobilityWorks and Bridge to Mobility – Better Together and an Amazing Mom!

Special Education teacher, Lauren Flynn has fostered and adopted several children with disabilities in her lifetime. Recently their vehicle with over 200,000 miles broke and was deemed no longer serviceable. Lauren and her four children were suddenly in need of a Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV).

The WAV was a necessity to transport Julian, a 14-year-old child with cerebral palsy who Lauren adopted after Julian was in the foster care systems in Seattle, WA. After 4 years on a list for adoption, Lauren adopted Julian at age 8. “I was the only applicant but still felt incredibly lucky to be chosen, other families who did not see his potential were foolishly missing out! “.  In addition to Julian, Lauren has also adopted Yu Lin, Huxley, and fosters a young child. All the children have special needs due to disabilities. She has a full house and WAV.

MobilityWorks found the perfect WAV to meet the needs of the family, a 2022 pre-owned Chrysler Pacifica with a brand new Driverge Patriot conversion. Lauren especially appreciated the automatic door and ramp buttons to help load and unload the kids more safely, the hands-free technology, the non-carpeted floor making clean up easy, and the second-row seat allowing her to space out the children. She particularly likes to have Julian positioned in the front seat.

This WAV, in addition to the many medical appointments, is also used for special activities and trips with the children. Among the favorites for this family are trips to the community pool, Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio and trips to the beach and ocean. In addition to her family, Lauren also uses the WAV to provide respite for other families, transport the children’s friends with disabilities as the WAV can accommodate multiple wheelchairs.

Working with the team at MobilityWorks, after finding the perfect solution for the family’s needs, they began the process of assisting the family in funding the WAV.   Along with Lauren’s grant from Medicaid, the MobilityWorks team arranged for specialized financing for the WAV, but they were still short. The team at MobilityWorks then reached out to the Bridge to Mobility (B2M), a non-profit organization focused on accelerating accessibility for wheelchair users through assistance with last dollar funding grants. It was the perfect solution to help Lauren and her family. MobilityWorks applied on her behalf to Bridge to Mobility.   MobilityWorks received notification within three days of submission that the grant had been approved.

“Bridge to Mobility allowed our family to get a perfect WAV and the ability to finance the remaining balance.  We are so grateful!” said Lauren Flynn.

Gerhard Schmidt, the Executive Director of the Bridge to Mobility stated “I am grateful for the support of the industry with partners such as MobilityWorks and Driverge who understand that getting a WAV can be a challenge. The MobilityWorks team was integral in the launch of our non-profit through the generous volunteer hours their employees donate to our charity and its mission.  Without this assistance, we could not help families like Lauren’s.”