Help needed to fund patio build for disabled man.

reggy71

I have a garden customer who would like a small(2×8m) patio but hasn't the funds available. The patio would be the entirety of his garden and I'm enquiring if any one could point us in the right direction of charities or organisations that may be able to assist.
The client is a man in his 30's paralyzed from the waste down post stroke and now permanently wheelchair bound, after a long fight he has finally been granted accessible accommodation (though 60 miles from his original locale). He is a proud young man who is still coming to terms with his disability and is trying to settle in to a new life in a new location, any advice, guidance or tips to help him enjoy his outdoor space would be very gratefully received and appreciated by us both. TIA.

woodbine

https://grants-search.turn2us.org.uk/

Don't know if the above will be useful but all I can think of right now.

Cher_Alumni

Hi @reggy71 and thanks for reaching out to our community. Let's hope this patio can be built sooner rather than later

In addition to checking available grants, I'd recommend your client check that he is getting all benefits he is entitled to.  He can do this using a Benefits calculator which gives an indicator of anything additional he may be able to claim. 

Whilst, he might also want to explore possible eligibility for a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG).  Eligibility is determined by local authority's who would assess if the proposed works were necessary and appropriate to meet the disabled person's needs.  This Shelter webpage has extensive guidance about DFG's and advises:

A disabled facilities grant must be made available if it is required for one or more of the following purposes... facilitating access to and from a garden by a disabled occupant or making access to a garden safe for a disabled occupant.

I hope that helps.  Please let us know how you get on.  

Just to let you know, I've tweaked the title of your thread and moved it to our Housing and independent living category to help others who may be in a similar position spot it.

reggy71

Thank you very much, I shall look into the DFG's, and inform him about it when i see him next, I am also going to have a pop at getting a national landscaping firm to do the job gratis, they would be able to do it with left over materials at almost no cost and some good press. 
Thank you for taking the time to respond with some great advice.
Incidently my client is based in Lincolnshire.

rubin16

Hi welcome to the community,

Just a thought but you could perhaps look at some form of crowdfunding and ask people for donations. Crowdfunding is great for raising funds for good causes or for people who are in need of it.

See: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/  and https://uk.gofundme.com/

Hope this helps.

reggy71

That's a great idea, I shall put it to him. Rough estimates suggest it would cost in the region of £1000-1200 so certainly achievable. Thank you.