JOY Burch is letting us know about a $10,000 ACT Government grant to get Ricky Haines’ scooter wheelchair-accessible.

Ricky Haines used his Enhanced Service Offer grant to achieve new-found freedom after 16 years of relying on other people for transport.

“The Enhanced Service Offer grants were all about providing people with disabilities with the means to achieve major goals in their lives – these do not come much bigger than personal freedom,” Joy said.

Following his stroke in 1998, Mr Haines could only communicate by blinking. Since then he has worked to regain some mobility including being able to walk short distances and communicating. One area that he had remained reliant on others for was transport. Mr Haines has a car, but it cannot accommodate his wheelchair.

To put this right, Mr Haines and his wife Isabel purchased a scooter with the aim of having it converted to be wheelchair accessible. The overall cost of buying and converting the scooter was approximately $20,000.

Carers ACT provided the family with a grant of $1,500 towards the project while Community Connections, which provides supports to Mr Haines, also provided some funding.

“The $10,000 awarded through the Enhanced Service Offer grants enabled Mr Haines to complete the modifications and, more importantly, achieve a level of independence he has not had in 16 years,” Ms Burch said. “One of the activities that Mr Haines is now able to enjoy is a bike ride with his daughter who has her own motorbike.”

The $7.7 million Enhanced Service Offer program, which ended in 2014 and was co-funded by the ACT and Commonwealth governments, was designed to support people with disabilities to transition to the NDIS.

More than 1,300 people with disability in Canberra were offered grants to buy a support, service, or equipment.