Alexander County sits at the southern tip of Illinois, where the Mississippi River and the Ohio River meet. Its six towns are Cairo, Tamms, Olive Branch, Thebes, East Cape Girardeau and McClure, and many of the homes in them were built long before anyone planned for single-story living.
In Cairo especially, families have held on to older multi-story houses while the city around them shrank from 15,203 residents in 1920 to 1,733 in 2020. For people who want to stay in those homes, a stair lift is often the most practical way to keep using the upstairs bedroom and bath instead of moving out.
Cairo still has a lot of 19th- and early-20th-century architecture, including the Italianate Magnolia Manor and the Second Empire Riverlore Mansion. Homes from that era tend to have tall, steep staircases, and some have turns or landings partway up.
A straight staircase can usually take a standard straight-rail lift. Stairs with a turn or a landing need a curved rail built to fit that exact staircase, so we measure on site before quoting anything.
Many older houses in the county have also gone without upkeep for years. Before a lift goes in, we check that the stairs and the wall or treads the rail mounts to are sound.
Housing here runs from single-family homes and detached houses to ranch-style homes, split-level homes and walk-up apartments. Each one raises a different question.
A ranch-style home may have no inside stairs at all but still have steps at the entry or down to a basement. Split-level homes have short runs of stairs between floors, and a person may need help on more than one of them.
Walk-up apartments are a different situation, because the stairs belong to the building. Renters should talk with the landlord early, since some funding programs require landlord approval.
The lowest point in Illinois is on the Mississippi River in Cairo. Cairo is the state's only city surrounded by levees, and it is fully enclosed by levees and floodwalls for protection from seasonal flooding.
During the 2011 Mississippi River flood the entire city was evacuated. If your home sits in a flood-prone spot, ask us where the lift's power and lower landing would sit and what the plan would be if you had to leave the house for a while.
Alexander County has about 3,572 residents, and 21.6% are 65 or older. Around 71.5% of households own their home, which matters because several repair and modification programs require you to own and live in the house.
The Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs has an office in Cairo at the Senior Citizens Center, reachable at (618) 734-0535, and it is a good first call for anyone who served.
Money is tight for a lot of households here. As of the 2010 Census, median household income in the county was $28,833 and 20.1% of residents lived below the poverty line, so outside help often decides whether a lift happens at all.
Age is the first fork in the road. The Illinois Home Services Program names stair lifts outright, but it is for people under 60 at application, as is the Persons with Disabilities waiver. People 60 and older usually start with the Senior HelpLine at (800) 252-8966 or the Egyptian Area Agency on Aging at (618) 985-8311.
Veterans should know that the VA HISA benefit specifically excludes stair glides. The program list below explains what each source does and does not cover, so you can call the right place first.
A state program that funds home modifications for people with severe disabilities, and its examples name stair lifts directly. Applicants must generally be under 60 at application; call (800) 843-6154.
This Medicaid waiver pays to physically modify a customer's home to make up for loss of function, for Illinois residents under 60 at application who are at risk of nursing facility placement. Call (877) 581-3690.
For adults 60 and older and their caregivers, this service list includes home modification. Call the Senior HelpLine at (800) 252-8966 to be connected with the Egyptian Area Agency on Aging.
This waiver for people 60 and older covers four services: in-home/homemaker, adult day, emergency home response and automated medication dispensers, and stair lifts or home modifications are not listed. Questions go to (800) 252-8966.
CCP serves people 60 and older with countable assets of $17,500 or less, but its source does not mention stair lifts or home modifications. It can route seniors to local supportive services; call (800) 252-8966.
This agency funds minor home modifications and repairs for older adults in 13 southern Illinois counties, including Alexander, though stair lifts are not named on its list. Call (618) 985-8311 to ask whether a stair lift would be approved.
A statewide home modification program for income-qualified households with a member who has a documented disability, open to owners and to renters with landlord approval; more than 800 people are on its waiting list. Call (217) 525-1308 and confirm stair lift coverage case by case.
The independent living center whose service area includes Alexander County; its source does not mention stair lifts or home modifications. Call (618) 457-3318 to be screened for the INCIL program or referred elsewhere.
Repair loans and grants for very-low-income owners in USDA-designated rural areas, with grants limited to people 62 and older; a third-party summary lists loans up to $40,000 and grants up to $10,000, which should be checked with USDA. Stair lifts are not listed among its examples.
HISA pays up to $6,800 or $2,000 over a lifetime for permanent accessibility changes, but it specifically excludes stair glides, so it will not cover a stair lift.
Grants for veterans with qualifying severe disabilities, up to $126,526 for SAH and $25,350 for SHA, usable up to 6 times over a lifetime. Stair lifts are not named among covered adaptations, so ask before counting on it.
Older adults
200 East Plaza Drive, Carterville, 62918
Veterans
Senior Citizens Center/ IETCn22nd St & Poplar St, Cairo, 62914
Yes. The Illinois Home Services Program names stair lifts among its home modifications and is for people under 60 at application; call (800) 843-6154. The Persons with Disabilities waiver, at (877) 581-3690, also covers home modifications for people under 60.
Call the Senior HelpLine at (800) 252-8966 or the Egyptian Area Agency on Aging at (618) 985-8311. The Egyptian AAA funds minor home modifications for Alexander County residents, but ask directly whether a stair lift would qualify, since it is not on their example list.
Not through HISA, which specifically excludes stair glides. SAH and SHA grants do not name stair lifts either, so talk with the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs office in Cairo at (618) 734-0535 about your options.
Usually, yes. Straight stairs take a straight rail, while stairs with a turn or landing need a curved rail made to fit. We also check the condition of the stairs first, because many older homes in the county have gone without upkeep.
The INCIL Home Modification Program accepts renters who have landlord approval, along with a household member who has a documented disability and income under its limit. Get the landlord on board early, then call (217) 525-1308 or the Southern Illinois Center for Independent Living at (618) 457-3318.
It is worth discussing. Cairo sits inside levees and floodwalls and was fully evacuated in the 2011 flood, so ask where the lift's power and lower landing would sit and how the lift would be handled if you had to leave the home.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
