Crowley County's homes sit in a few small rail-era towns strung along the old Missouri Pacific Railroad route: Ordway, Sugar City, Olney Springs and Crowley. Most of the housing is older, single-family and modest, the kind of stock you find in early-1900s farming settlements rather than in newer suburban tracts.
That matters when someone in the family starts having trouble with the stairs. A ranch-style house with a short flight down to the basement calls for a different lift than a split-level with stairs on every side. This page walks through what local homes usually need and which programs Crowley County residents can call about paying for it.
The housing here is mostly single-family homes, detached houses, ranch-style homes and split-level homes. In a ranch-style house the main living space is often on one floor, so a lift is usually only needed for a basement or a few entry steps. A straight stair lift tends to fit that kind of run without much fuss.
Split-level homes are a different story. They have short flights between several levels, and getting to the bedrooms may mean one set of stairs while the laundry or family room means another. Some families end up with a lift on the flight used most, while others look at a curved rail or a second straight unit.
Older homes can also have narrow stairways, tight landings or steps that change direction partway. Those details decide whether a straight rail works or a curved one has to be built to the stairs, so measure before you shop.
Crowley County spans roughly 787 square miles of open prairie grassland in the Arkansas Valley, and plenty of houses have steps up to a porch or side door. An outdoor stair lift is built for weather, and a platform lift can be the better pick when someone uses a wheelchair and cannot transfer to a seat.
Think about which door the person actually uses every day. In many farm and ranch households that is the back or side entry, not the front porch, and that is where the lift should go.
Ordway sits along State Highways 96 and 71, and the Front Range urban corridor lies roughly 100 miles to the west. That distance means home-modification contractors and equipment suppliers are not right around the corner.
Before you commit, ask any installer how they handle repairs and service calls out here, and how long a part takes to arrive. A lift that sits broken for weeks does not help anyone get upstairs.
The Crowley County VSO at 603 Main Street Suite 2 in Ordway can be reached at (719) 267-5241 and can help sort out which VA benefits apply.
Be clear about one point: the VA HISA grant specifically excludes stair glides and porch lifts as removable equipment, so it will not pay for a stair lift. The SAH and SHA grants do not name stair lifts either, so ask the VSO directly before planning around them.
None of the programs below lists stair lifts as a covered item, and one, the VA HISA grant, rules them out. That does not always mean the answer is no. It means you need to call, describe the need and ask plainly.
For older adults, the Lower Arkansas Valley Area Agency on Aging is the usual first call; its office is at 13 West 3rd Street, Suite 110, La Junta, 81050, phone (719) 383-4880. Homeowners with very low income may also look at the USDA Section 504 repair loans and grants, since Crowley County is rural. The full list of programs is below.
For people enrolled in a qualifying Health First Colorado HCBS waiver such as the Elderly, Blind, and Disabled Waiver, with a $14,000 lifetime maximum for most waivers; stair lifts are not named among covered items. Call (800) 221-3943.
Plans and refers adults 60 and older and their caregivers in Baca, Bent, Crowley, Kiowa, Otero and Prowers counties to Older Americans Act services; it is not a cash grant, and stair lifts are not mentioned. Call (719) 383-3166 to confirm current services.
The state agency that oversees senior-services funding passed through the 16 regional Area Agencies on Aging; it is not a direct grant and stair lifts are not mentioned. Call (303) 866-5700.
Repair loans up to $40,000 at 1% for 20 years, and grants up to $10,000 for homeowners 62 and older with very low income in rural areas like Crowley County; stair lifts are not named in the source. Call (800) 414-1226.
A lifetime grant of up to $6,800 or $2,000 for medically necessary home alterations for veterans, but stair glides and porch lifts are explicitly excluded, so it does not cover stair lifts.
Grants for homeowners with qualifying severe service-connected disabilities, up to $126,526 for SAH and $25,350 for SHA in FY2026; ramps and doorway widening are given as examples, and stair lifts are not named. Call (800) 698-2411.
Free loans of equipment like wheelchairs, walkers, canes, shower chairs and crutches for people with disabilities in a 17-county area that includes Crowley County; stair lifts are not among the listed items. Call (719) 546-1271.
Serves Crowley County residents but does not list a dedicated home-modification or stair lift fund. Call (719) 267-3546 to ask what assistance may apply.
Older adults
13 West 3rd Street, Suite 110, La Junta, 81050
Veterans
603 Main Street Suite 2, Ordway, 81063
The Lower Arkansas Valley AAA serves adults 60 and older and their caregivers. For a younger person with a disability, the Colorado Medicaid HCBS waivers and the Center Toward Self Reliance at (719) 546-1271 are the places to ask.
No. The HISA grant lists stair glides and porch lifts as excluded removable equipment. The Crowley County VSO in Ordway, (719) 267-5241, can talk through other VA options.
Yes. The county is entirely rural, and USDA Section 504 requires the home to be in an eligible rural area. You also must own and live in the home and have very low household income for the county.
The Lower Arkansas Valley AAA office is at 13 West 3rd Street, Suite 110, in La Junta, 81050. The phone there is (719) 383-4880.
Split-level homes have short flights between several levels, so the answer depends on which flights the person has to use each day. Some homes need a lift on one flight, others a curved rail or more than one straight unit.
The home modification benefit under the HCBS waivers lists items like ramps, bathroom changes, grab bars and doorway widening, but stair lifts are not named. Call (800) 221-3943 and ask directly about your situation.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
