Greene County covers 546 square miles of mostly flat farmland in west-central Illinois, near where the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers meet. Carrollton, the county seat, sits alongside White Hall, Roodhouse, Greenfield and Kane, and between those towns you find older farmhouses and small-town houses built long before anyone talked about accessibility standards.
Most of these homes have been in the same hands for a long time. Of the 5,785 housing units counted in the 2020 Census, 76.1% are owner-occupied. For a family whose parent has climbed the same staircase for decades, a stair lift is often the step that lets them stay put instead of moving.
The flat land outside does not mean the inside is easy. Older farmhouses and small-town houses here often have narrow staircases, and many have a landing or a turn partway up. A straight flight with no turns usually takes a straight rail, which is the simplest install.
If the stairs turn, bend around a landing or wind at the top, a curved rail is built to follow that exact path. We measure the stairs in person before recommending either, because two houses on the same street in White Hall or Roodhouse can have very different staircases.
Split-level homes have several short flights instead of one long one. That can mean a lift on the flight used most, or more than one lift, depending on where the bedroom and bathroom sit. We look at daily routes through the house before suggesting anything.
Townhouses and walk-up apartments raise a different question: who owns the stairs. In a shared stairwell, the building owner usually has to agree first. Inside a unit you own, it works much like a single-family home.
When a wheelchair user needs to go up and down, a seat lift may not be the right fit. A platform lift carries the chair itself and is worth discussing if transferring to a seat is not safe.
January here averages around 16 degF and July around 87 degF, with recorded extremes from -26 degF in January 1912 to 113 degF in July 1934. Icy porch steps in winter and hot ones in summer are a real fall risk for someone with limited mobility.
An outdoor stair lift is built for weather and can handle porch or entry steps. For a farmhouse with a raised front porch, that may matter as much as the stairs inside.
In 2020 the county's median age was 44.3, and 21.5% of residents were 65 or older. Many of them live in paid-off family homes with bedrooms upstairs.
The Greene County Veterans Assistance Commission is at 519 N Main St, Suite 5, Carrollton, and can be reached at (217) 370-8779.
Age at application matters a lot in Illinois. The Illinois Home Services Program is for people under 60 with a severe disability, and its home modification page names stair lifts directly. Call (800) 843-6154 to ask about it.
For people 60 and older, the Community Care Program and the elderly waiver fund in-home help, not stair lifts. The better call is the Senior HelpLine at (800) 252-8966, which connects Greene County residents to AgeLinc about home modification services. AgeLinc's Springfield office at 2731 S. MacArthur Blvd. can also be reached at (217) 787-9234.
Veterans should know that the VA HISA benefit specifically excludes stair glides. The listed programs below explain each option and who to call.
A statewide program for Illinois residents under 60 at application with a severe, long-term disability who are at risk of nursing facility placement; its page lists stair lifts among covered modifications. Call (800) 843-6154 or TTY 1-866-324-5553.
Funds home modifications that help make up for lost mobility or strength and increase safety, for people with severe disabilities under 60. Call (800) 843-6154.
A Medicaid waiver for Illinois residents under 60 at application that covers physical changes to the home to help with daily activities. Call (877) 581-3690 or TTY 1-800-447-6404.
For Medicaid-eligible residents 60 and older, this waiver covers homemaker help, adult day service, emergency home response and medication dispensers; stair lifts and home modifications are not listed. Call (800) 252-8966.
Provides in-home services for residents 60 and older with assets of $17,500 or less; home modifications and stair lifts are not listed. Call the Senior HelpLine at (800) 252-8966.
Supportive services for adults 60 and older and caregivers include home modification, with funding depending on the local agency. Call (800) 252-8966 to be connected to AgeLinc.
The area agency on aging serving Greene County, an information and referral hub rather than an equipment fund; stair lifts are not listed. Call (800) 252-2918 to be screened for the right program.
Offers advocacy, peer support and referrals for people with disabilities in Greene and nearby counties; stair lifts are not listed. Call (618) 462-1411.
Funds ramps, interior modifications and accessibility updates for households with a disability who meet income limits; stair lifts are not listed, and it helped 83 people in its first year against a waitlist of over 800. Call (217) 525-1308.
Pays for permanent accessibility changes for enrolled VA patients, up to $6,800 or $2,000 depending on disability status. Stair glides are specifically excluded.
Grants for veterans with certain severe disabilities, up to $126,526 for SAH and $25,350 for SHA; stair lifts are not named among the listed adaptations.
Repair loans and grants for very low income homeowners in USDA-designated rural areas, with grants limited to homeowners 62 and older; stair lifts are not listed, and current amounts should be confirmed with USDA.
Older adults
2731 S. MacArthur Blvd., Springfield, 62704
Veterans
519 N Main St, Suite 5, Carrollton, 62016
Yes, possibly. The Illinois Home Services Program names stair lifts among its home modifications for people under 60 with a severe disability who are at risk of nursing facility placement. Call (800) 843-6154.
Start with the Senior HelpLine at (800) 252-8966, which connects you to AgeLinc. The statewide aging network lists home modification as a service, though funding depends on what is available locally.
Not through HISA, which specifically excludes stair glides. The SAH and SHA grants do not name stair lifts either, so talk with the Greene County Veterans Assistance Commission in Carrollton at (217) 370-8779 about your options.
Yes. An outdoor stair lift is made for exterior steps, which helps when January averages around 16 degF and porch steps ice over.
No. A curved rail is built to follow turns and landings. We measure the staircase in person to see what fits.
Its page lists ramps, interior modifications and accessibility updates but does not mention stair lifts. Greene County residents apply through IMPACT Center for Independent Living at (618) 462-1411, and can ask there.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
