The items ending up rotting and rusting in landfills.
(A quarter of Hazard’s residents live in poverty.)
(The acronym stands for “Coordinating and Assisting the Reuse of Assistive Technology.")
Three-quarters of the people served by CARAT are older than 50.
I figured we might as well teach students how to do it correctly from the beginning.
They help clean, fix the equipment and get it out the door.
They do clinical rotations.
When theyre at the hospitals or clinics, they talk about our program, Kitzman says.
We started as a group that came together and said, How can we help?
We figured we’d help by building ramps or whatever a person needed.
Then it evolved in a way none of us predicted.
Let’s work together.'
People don’t have to do something big to have an impact.
Take care of your small part of the world.
Someone else will take care of their small part of the world.
That cascade can have a pretty big impact.Dr.
A very low-tech toy is a wooden puzzle.
Teens in the CARAT-TOP program also learn about budgeting and how to request meetings with local leaders.
They have learned to care not only about their school but the community.
The experience is going to benefit them for the rest of their lives.
Wheelchairs, which typically cost from $500 to $2,000, get beat up with use.
Most insurance companies will only pay for a replacement once every five years.
But theyre not the most requested item by CARATs clients.
The bathroom is the most dangerous room in your house because it gets wet,” says Kitzman.
A bath bench isnota luxury.
Children with a range of disabilities and differences are often in need of customized toys.
Students from several of the universitys departments, including engineering, assist with the toy revamps.
Toys were working on have lots of components, like multiple switches, explains Kitzman.
Students are even creating handsfree connections to toys.
CARAT has eight sites across Kentucky.
The organization has refurbished and distributed some $3.5 million in equipment since its founding.
The center will serve the disability population in eastern Kentucky through education, demonstrations and loans of assistive technology.
The makerspace allows for the rapid adapting of equipment to meet individuals needs.
Reporting by Amy Lennard Goehner | Page published May 2023
