Butte's Uptown Historic District is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the country, with 5,991 contributing historic properties. Many are Victorian- and Queen Anne-style homes and miner's cottages built during the copper-mining boom of the late 19th century, and plenty of them still have their original narrow interior staircases.
Those stairs were never built with accessibility in mind. Add steep Uptown streets, an elevation of roughly 5,824 feet on the Continental Divide and long winters, and getting from one floor to the next becomes a real daily question for older residents in Butte and Walkerville. This page walks through what that means for a stair lift and where to look for help paying for one.
A multi-story Victorian or Queen Anne house in Butte often has a staircase that is narrow, steep, or turns on a landing. A straight stair lift works when the run goes from bottom to top with no bends. If the stairs turn, wind or have a mid-landing, a curved stair lift with a rail made to fit that exact staircase is usually the answer.
Narrow stairs are the main thing we measure for in these homes. The rail mounts to the stair treads rather than the walls, and the seat and footrest fold up when not in use, so people walking the stairs still have room to pass.
Miner's cottages tend to be smaller, but many still have a stair to a second floor or a basement. Those shorter runs are often a good fit for a straight unit.
Uptown's streets are hilly and steep, and the climate is cold and semi-arid. January averages about 20 degrees F, and roughly 54 days a year never get above freezing. Ice on porch steps and slopes adds to fall risk for older adults.
For homes where the trouble starts at the front door, an outdoor stair lift built for weather exposure can carry a person up exterior steps. Where a wheelchair user needs to get up a short rise, a platform lift may make more sense than a seat.
About 19.2% of Silver Bow County's 35,589 residents are 65 or older, and 70.5% of households own their homes. That is a lot of people aging in houses they own, which is exactly the situation where a permanently installed stair lift is easiest to arrange.
Housing here ranges from single-family homes and detached houses to duplexes, townhouses and walk-up apartments. In a duplex, townhouse or walk-up, the stair may be shared or owned by someone else, so permission from the owner or association comes first.
If that includes your parent, the veterans section below matters, because one common VA grant does not pay for stair lifts.
None of the programs listed below names stair lifts as a covered item in the sources we reviewed, and the VA HISA grant specifically excludes stair glides. Several do cover home modifications in general terms, so it is worth calling and asking directly about a stair lift.
Start with Area V - Southwest Montana Aging & Disability Services at 125 Basin Creek Rd. in Butte, (406) 782-5555. It works as the local Aging & Disability Resource Center and can help with applications, including the Montana Big Sky Waiver.
Veterans can reach the Butte Service Office at 600 Gilman Ave, (406) 533-0910. Other statewide options to ask about include the Montana Assistive Technology Loan (MATL), the Reverse Annuity Mortgage (RAM), Community First Choice Services (CFCS) and the Property Tax Assistance Program (PTAP) & Elderly Homeowner/Renter Credit.
A Montana DPHHS program that helps Medicaid recipients who have lived in a qualifying long-term care facility for at least 60 consecutive days move back to community living, and it lists modification of the home environment as a transition service. Stair lifts are not named specifically; call (406) 444-4077 to ask.
A Medicaid waiver for Montanans 65 and older, or under 65 with a qualifying physical disability, who need a nursing facility level of care; the 2026 income limit is $994/month for a single applicant with a $2,000 asset limit, and waitlists are possible. Listed home modifications are wheelchair ramps, grab bars and widening of doorways, with stair lifts not mentioned; call (888) 706-1535.
The local aging-services hub for adults 60 and older and people with disabilities 18 and older in Silver Bow and five neighboring counties, offering information and application help rather than a cash grant. No stair lift benefit is listed; call (406) 782-5555, or the Butte-Silver Bow County Council on Aging / Belmont Senior Center at 406-723-7773.
A county pilot offering free minor safety work such as grab bars, handrails and anti-slip stair tape to limited-income homeowners age 50 or older who live in the home and are current on their mortgage; stair lifts are not listed. The application window closed August 31, 2025 and the county is exploring more funding, so call (406) 497-6264 for current status.
Very-low-income homeowners in USDA-eligible rural areas can get repair loans up to $40,000 at 1% fixed interest, and those 62 and older who cannot repay a loan may get grants up to $10,000 lifetime. The program covers health and safety repairs, stair lifts are not mentioned, and Butte addresses need to be checked against USDA's eligibility map; call (406) 585-2530.
A VA grant of up to $6,800 lifetime for service-connected disabilities, or $2,000 for other non-service-connected disabilities, for medically necessary home alterations. It does not cover stair lifts: the VA explicitly excludes stair glides, porch lifts and portable ramps.
Grants for veterans with qualifying severe service-connected disabilities, up to $126,526 for SAH and $25,350 for SHA in FY2026, usable up to 6 times over a lifetime. Stair lifts are not mentioned in the program description; call (800) 827-1000.
A nonprofit at 820 W Platinum St in Butte offering advocacy, peer mentoring, information and referral, and Veteran Directed Care for people with disabilities in Silver Bow and nearby counties. It does not list a stair lift fund but can point you to resources; call (406) 782-4834.
Older adults
125 Basin Creek Rd., Butte, 59701
Veterans
600 Gilman Ave, Butte, 59701
Often, yes. The rail mounts to the treads and the seat folds up, which helps on the narrow original staircases common in Butte's Victorian, Queen Anne and miner's cottage homes. Stairs that turn or have a landing usually need a curved stair lift built to fit.
Not through the HISA grant, which explicitly excludes stair glides. The SAH and SHA grants do not mention stair lifts either way, so call (800) 827-1000 or the Butte Service Office at (406) 533-0910 to ask about your situation.
The Montana Big Sky Waiver lists wheelchair ramps, grab bars and widening of doorways as home modifications and does not name stair lifts. Call (888) 706-1535, or ask Area V at (406) 782-5555 for help with the application.
The Butte Aging at Home Program was open to homeowners 50 and older, though its application window closed August 31, 2025; call (406) 497-6264 for current status. Area V also serves people with disabilities age 18 and older, and Ability Montana works with people with disabilities.
The application window closed August 31, 2025, and the county is exploring more funding. Call the Butte-Silver Bow Community Development Dept. at (406) 497-6264 to check. Its listed services include grab bars, handrails and anti-slip stair tape, not stair lifts.
With January averaging about 20 degrees F and roughly 54 days a year below freezing, outside steps can be a bigger problem than inside ones. An outdoor stair lift made for weather exposure, or a platform lift for wheelchair users, can handle exterior steps.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
