Orange County sits in the far southeast corner of Texas on the Louisiana border, and its homes show it. Across Orange, Vidor, Bridge City, West Orange, Mauriceville, Little Cypress, Forest Heights, Pine Forest and Rose City, many houses sit on raised foundations with porch steps out front. Others have multi-level entries that were built or changed after flooding.
Those steps are fine at forty and hard at eighty. This page walks through how local homes and terrain affect the kind of stair lift that fits, and which programs an Orange County family can call about to help pay for one.
Hurricane Harvey in 2017 dropped 30-50 inches of rain and flooded more than 27,742 homes regionally. The City of Orange, Vidor, Orangefield, Pine Forest, West Orange, Mauriceville, Rose City and Lakeview were among the hardest-hit communities in the county. The Sabine River at Orange reached its highest level since Hurricane Ike in 2008.
After a flood, many owners rebuild higher. A raised home often trades a single front step for a full run of exterior stairs, and that is where a lot of our local work starts.
For a straight run of porch or entry steps, an outdoor stair lift built to handle weather is usually the first option we look at. Where someone uses a wheelchair and cannot transfer to a seat, a platform lift may be the better fit.
The county seat has five locally designated historic districts, including the residential Old Orange Historic District. Orange grew as a shipbuilding center during World Wars I and II, and the USS Orleck, a Navy destroyer built in Orange in 1945, is now berthed downtown.
Older houses in these districts often have porch steps and interior staircases that turn or land partway up. A straight stair lift works when the stairs run in one line from bottom to top. If the stairs curve or have a landing, a curved rail is custom-built to follow them.
The Old Orange Historic District carries city protections, so it is smart to ask the city about any exterior change before an outdoor lift goes on a front porch.
Much of the county's housing is single-family homes, ranch-style homes, manufactured homes, townhouses and walk-up apartments. A one-story ranch may have no inside stairs at all, but still have steps at the entry. Manufactured homes usually sit off the ground, so the front and back doors need steps too.
Townhouses tend to have a straight interior staircase, which is the simplest and quickest kind of indoor install. Walk-up apartments are different, since the stairs are shared and the owner of the building has to approve any change.
That second figure matters, because veterans have their own set of benefits to check before paying out of pocket.
The county is also 36.1% rural. Seniors living outside the town centers, around places like Mauriceville or Little Cypress, may face longer travel times for installers and home-modification contractors based in Orange or Beaumont. Planning ahead helps.
No single program in the county pays for stair lifts outright, so most families combine a few calls. Medicaid members who need a nursing-facility level of care can ask their STAR+PLUS health plan about home modifications. Low-income homeowners 62 and older in rural parts of the county can look at USDA Section 504.
Veterans should start with the Orange County Veterans' Office at (409) 745-1535 to get a disability rating on file. Be aware that the VA HISA grant does not pay for stair glides, though other VA housing grants may cover broader adaptations.
Other statewide programs worth asking about include the Amy Young Barrier Removal Program (AYBR) and the Community Living Assistance and Support Services (CLASS) Waiver. The programs listed below give more detail and phone numbers.
A Medicaid managed-care waiver for adults 65 and older, or adults 21+ with a qualifying disability, who need a nursing-facility level of care but want to stay home; home modifications are a listed benefit, but stair lifts are not named, so approval depends on the member's individual service plan and health plan. Call (832) 501-3254.
Low-interest repair loans and grants for very-low-income homeowners in USDA-eligible rural or small-town areas, with the grant portion limited to owners 62 or older; stair lifts are not specifically listed in the source, and eligibility in parts of Orange County outside the denser cores of Orange and Vidor must be checked by address through the Texas USDA Rural Development office.
A lifetime VA grant of up to $6,800 or $2,000, depending on disability status, for medically necessary fixed alterations like entrance access and roll-in showers; it explicitly does not cover stair glides or porch lifts. Call (800) 827-1000.
Lifetime grants of up to $126,526 (SAH) or $25,350 (SHA) for veterans with specific severe service-connected disabilities to buy, build or adapt a home; stair lifts are not named in the source, so coverage is not confirmed. Call (800) 827-1000, or get help with the underlying claim from the Orange County Veterans' Office at (409) 745-1535.
Information, referral, care coordination and caregiver support for Orange County residents 60 and older and their family caregivers; it does not fund stair lifts or home modifications but is a good place to ask what help is available. Call (409) 924-3381, or reach the Orange Community Action Association at 409-886-2186.
A county office at 10984 FM 1442 in Orange that helps veterans and surviving spouses file VA claims and appeals at no charge; it does not pay for stair lifts itself, but it is the local starting point for the disability rating VA housing grants require. Call (409) 745-1535.
Older adults
2210 Eastex Fwy., Beaumont, 77703
Veterans
10984 FM 1442, Orange, 77630
Yes, outdoor stair lifts are made for exterior steps like those on raised homes. If the person uses a wheelchair and cannot move to a seat, a platform lift is usually the better choice.
The VA HISA grant explicitly does not cover stair glides. The SAH and SHA grants do not name stair lifts, so coverage is not confirmed. Start with the Orange County Veterans' Office at (409) 745-1535 to sort out which benefits apply.
The Area Agency on Aging network serves residents 60 and older. STAR+PLUS covers adults 21+ with a qualifying disability, and USDA Section 504 repair loans have no age minimum, though the grant portion requires age 62 or older.
Possibly in your favor. Parts of Orange County outside the denser core of Orange and Vidor may count as rural for USDA Section 504, but it has to be checked by address. Rural homes can also mean longer travel time for installers, so schedule early.
The Area Agency on Aging of Southeast Texas can be reached at (409) 924-3381, and the South East Texas AAA office in Beaumont is at (409) 899-8444. Locally, the Orange Community Action Association answers at 409-886-2186.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
