Thousands of dollars in special equipment will soon be on the way to people in the storm-impacted Florida Panhandle who have disabilities.
The donated items were trucked into Tallahassee on Wednesday, Oct. 24 to await distribution. Michael Daniels, executive director of the Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology, unlocked a large unit in a storage complex on Apalachee Parkway and started ticking off the contents:
“Fourteen manual chairs, fourteen wheelchair cushions, around 20-25 bedside commodes, shower benches and transfer benches, around 20 crutches and reachers, two hospital beds….” he said, going down a long list.
Total value of the donated items, Daniels estimated, was somewhere between $20,000 and $22,000. Soon, he added, it would be heading for folks with disabilities in the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Michael. He saids there’s a number to call for those not being served by an organization for people with disabilities.
“1-844-353-2278," he said. "Tim McCann is our information and referral specialist. He’ll take down your information and we’ll triage it and try to get a solution to you the best way we can.”
All of the donated items he says came from Virginia and Georgia.
