In St. Joseph, the downtown sits up near the Lake Bluff Park shoreline above Lake Michigan, and many of the houses there are historic multi-story homes going back to the town's 1834 start as a village. Go inland to Niles, Benton Harbor, Buchanan or Berrien Springs and you find more of the same: older homes built long before anyone planned for single-story living.
Those stairs were fine for decades. Now they can decide whether someone stays in a long-owned house or moves out. This page walks through how Berrien County homes and terrain shape the kind of stair lift that fits, and which local, state and federal programs are worth a phone call when it comes to paying.
A large share of homes in the county's long-settled towns are two-story or taller. In a house with one straight run of stairs from the front hall to the bedrooms, a straight stair lift is usually the simplest fit. The rail mounts to the stair treads, not the wall, so plaster and old trim stay intact.
Historic homes in places like St. Joseph and Niles often have a landing, a turn or a narrow winding section. Those stairs need a curved lift with a rail bent to match that exact staircase. We measure on site before quoting anything, because no two older staircases are quite the same.
Berrien County covers 1,581 square miles in the southwest corner of the Lower Peninsula, and 1,014 of those square miles are water. Coastal towns such as St. Joseph sit on high ground above the lake, and the St. Joseph River runs from Niles all the way to its mouth at St. Joseph. That means a lot of homes with elevation changes outside, not just inside.
If the hard part is getting from the driveway to the porch, or down to a lower level that faces the water, an outdoor stair lift built for weather may solve it. For a short rise where a wheelchair has to come along, a platform lift can be the better choice. Lakefront places in New Buffalo, Grand Beach, Michiana and Shoreham are worth looking at this way.
Not every home here is a tall old house. The county also has split-level homes, townhouses and walk-up apartments. A split-level often has two or three short flights, and each one may need its own lift or a single curved rail that ties them together.
Townhouses usually have a straight but steep interior stair, which is often a good match for a straight lift. Walk-up apartments are different because the stairs are shared, so the building owner has to approve anything installed in a common stairwell.
About 19.0% of residents in the county are 65 or older, and in St. Joseph that figure is 21.2%. Roughly 62.2% of residents are homeowners, which lines up with what we see: many people have lived in the same house for years and would rather adapt it than sell.
If that includes you or a parent, the VA benefits below are worth checking, though they have firm limits on what they pay for.
None of the programs listed below names stair lifts on the pages that were reviewed, and the VA HISA benefit explicitly excludes stair glides. That does not always mean the answer is no. It means you should call and ask directly before counting on help.
A good first call is the Region IV AAA office at 2900 Lakeview Ave., St. Joseph, 49085, phone (269) 983-0177. Veterans can reach Veteran Services at 701 Main Street, St. Joseph, 49085, phone (269) 983-7111. Statewide options to ask about include the MI Choice Waiver Program, MI Coordinated Health (formerly MI Health Link), the MSHDA Property Improvement Program (PIP) and VA Benefits for Veterans (HISA + Prosthetics).
A Medicaid waiver for people 65 or older (or 18 and up if disabled) who need a nursing facility level of care, with each home change approved as part of a personal care plan; stair lifts are not listed among the adaptations named in the source. Call Region IV Area Agency on Aging at (269) 983-3304.
A $1 million HUD grant covering Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties from January 2025 through January 2028 for low-income people 62 or older with a physical disability, homeowners and renters alike; stair lifts are not listed among the named modifications. Call (800) 654-2810.
Loans up to $40,000 at 1% fixed interest over 20 years, and grants up to a $10,000 lifetime maximum for very low income homeowners 62 or older in USDA-eligible rural areas; stair lifts are not listed in the source. Call (517) 324-5190.
A lifetime benefit of up to $6,800 or $2,000, depending on disability status, for medically necessary home accessibility work; it explicitly excludes stair glides, so it does not cover stair lifts. Call (800) 827-1000.
Grants for veterans with qualifying severe service-connected disabilities, with FY2026 caps of up to $126,526 for SAH and $25,350 for SHA; stair lifts are not specifically listed in the source.
A program for people with disabilities in a service area that includes Berrien County; the source does not say whether stair lifts are covered. Call (269) 985-0111 and ask whether stair lift help is available.
Older adults
2900 Lakeview Ave., St. Joseph, 49085
Veterans
701 Main Street, St. Joseph, 49085
The MI Choice Medicaid Waiver approves home adaptations one at a time, but the source lists ramps, grab bars, widened doorways and accessible bathrooms, not stair lifts. Call Region IV Area Agency on Aging at (269) 983-3304 to ask about your situation.
The HISA benefit explicitly excludes stair glides, so it will not pay for one. SAH and SHA grants do not name stair lifts either, so ask the VA at (800) 827-1000 or Veteran Services in St. Joseph at (269) 983-7111.
Yes, the Older Adult Home Modification Program says both homeowners and renters may qualify if they are 62 or older, low-income and have a physical disability. Stair lifts are not named, so call (800) 654-2810 to ask.
MI Choice accepts people 18 and older if they are disabled and meet its other rules. Disability Network Southwest Michigan did not state an age limit for its Ramp Up Program; you can reach it at (269) 985-0111.
Maybe not. The USDA Section 504 program only serves eligible rural areas, and urban parts of Benton Harbor, St. Joseph and Niles are likely non-rural. Check your address on the USDA eligibility map or call (517) 324-5190.
Region IV AAA is at 2900 Lakeview Ave., St. Joseph, 49085. The phone number is (269) 983-0177.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
