Mason County runs along the Ohio River on its western edge, with the Kanawha River splitting the county near Point Pleasant. Across its 8 towns, from New Haven and Mason to Gallipolis Ferry, Leon and Apple Grove, you find hilly, wooded interior land and low river-bottom neighborhoods. Each setting puts its own kind of stairs in front of the people who live there.
In Point Pleasant, the county seat, the Point Pleasant Historic District holds 93 contributing buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of the older homes around the business district are multi-story houses with their original stairways. This page walks through how those homes, and the rest of the county's housing, fit with stair lifts, and where local families can look for help paying for one.
The historic homes in and around downtown Point Pleasant were built long before anyone planned for a chair on a rail. Their stairways are often narrower or steeper than newer construction, and some turn at a landing. Before quoting anything, we measure the width, the pitch and every turn.
A straight staircase with no landing usually takes a straight rail, which is the simplest install. If the stairs curve or turn partway up, the rail has to be bent to fit that exact staircase, so a curved lift takes more planning. In older houses we also check where the rail can anchor to the treads, since the lift mounts to the stairs and not the wall.
Not every Mason County home is a big old two-story. The county also has single-family and detached houses, split-level homes, townhouses and walk-up apartments. Split-level homes often have several short flights instead of one long one, which can mean more than one lift or a rail that handles a turn.
Townhouses tend to have one straight flight along a shared wall, which usually suits a straight lift. In a walk-up apartment, the stairs inside the unit and the common stairs outside are different questions, and anything on shared stairs needs a conversation with the owner first.
Away from the rivers, the county is hilly and forested, and many homes sit on sloped lots with steps up to the porch or down to the drive. Those outdoor steps can be as hard to manage as the ones inside. An outdoor stair lift built for weather, or a platform lift for someone who uses a wheelchair, can handle that first climb.
The low land along the Ohio and Kanawha has a long flood history. The Ohio River at Point Pleasant crested at 62.80 feet in March 1913 and 62.70 feet in January 1937. If your home is on river-bottom ground, tell us, so we can talk through where the lift and its power connection sit in the house.
About 23.4% of residents are 65 or older. The 2020 census counted 12,153 housing units in the county, with about 79.7% owner-occupied. That points to many long-time homeowners planning to stay in the houses they already have, stairs and all.
For a family weighing a move against an install, a stair lift often lets a parent keep using the whole house. It is worth comparing against the cost and strain of moving a bedroom downstairs or leaving a home they own.
Money is the hard part for many households here. The county's poverty rate is 19.4%, and median household income is $49,761, so many families look to Medicaid waiver, VA, USDA and nonprofit help. None of the programs below name stair lifts outright, and the VA HISA grant specifically excludes stair glides, so always ask before you count on a program.
The practical first call is Mason County Action Group at 101 2nd St., Point Pleasant, (304) 675-2369. They handle local intake for the Metro Area Agency on Aging and can screen you for the Aged and Disabled Waiver and state home-modification funds. Veterans can also reach the State of West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance office in Parkersburg at (304) 420-4982.
This Medicaid waiver for adults 18 and older who need nursing-facility level of care includes physical adaptations to the home that improve accessibility, though stair lifts are not named and no dollar cap is stated. Apply through Mason County Action Group or call (866) 767-1575.
People 60 and older who can show a need for home modifications or accessibility devices may apply for funds toward those costs; stair lifts are not specifically listed. Call (866) 981-2372.
The regional intake, case-management and referral point for the ADW, in-home care and other aging and disability services, not a direct grant; stair lifts are not listed as a benefit. Call (304) 720-6858, or start locally with Mason County Action Group.
The local first stop in Point Pleasant for Medicaid Waiver case management and the Lighthouse Program, which offers in-home care, mobility, nutrition and light housekeeping for seniors who do not meet Medicaid financial guidelines; no stair lift grant is listed. Call (304) 675-2369.
Very-low-income rural homeowners can borrow up to $20,000 at 1% over 20 years, and homeowners 62 and older who cannot repay a loan may get a grant up to $7,500 to remove health and safety hazards, with up to $27,500 combined. Stair lifts are not mentioned in the source.
A lifetime grant of up to $6,800 or $2,000, depending on disability status, for medically necessary home alterations such as ramps and roll-in showers. It does not cover stair lifts, which the VA lists as excluded removable equipment.
Grants for veterans with qualifying severe service-connected disabilities, up to $126,526 for SAH and $25,350 for SHA in FY2026, usable to build, buy or remodel a home for accessibility. Stair lifts are not specifically named among the examples.
Offers device demonstrations, 30-day device loans and a device reuse program for West Virginians with disabilities and their families; stair lifts are not named. Call (800) 841-8436.
Helps people with disabilities stay safely in their homes by coordinating home modifications and providing durable medical equipment; stair lifts are not specifically listed. Call the Huntington office at (304) 525-3324 to ask about current funding.
Older adults
1900 Kanawha Blvd. East, Charleston, 25305
Veterans
1824 Murdoch AvenuenSuite F101, Parkersburg, 26101
Start with Mason County Action Group at 101 2nd St. in Point Pleasant, (304) 675-2369. They are the local intake point for the Metro Area Agency on Aging and can screen you for the Aged and Disabled Waiver and state home-modification funds.
Yes, possibly. The Aged and Disabled Waiver serves adults 18 and older who meet Medicaid financial rules and need nursing-facility level of care, and Mountain State Centers for Independent Living works with people with disabilities of any age. Neither names stair lifts, so ask directly.
Mason County Action Group runs the Lighthouse Program for seniors who do not meet Medicaid financial guidelines, covering in-home care, mobility, nutrition and light housekeeping. The state ADRC home-modification program for people 60 and older is another place to apply.
Not through the HISA grant, which lists stair glides as excluded equipment. The SAH and SHA grants can fund remodeling for accessibility for veterans with qualifying severe disabilities, but stair lifts are not named, so confirm with the State of West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance in Parkersburg at (304) 420-4982.
Yes. Outdoor stair lifts are built for weather, and a platform lift is an option for someone in a wheelchair. We look at the slope, the steps and the ground before recommending one.
Often it can. Stairs that turn at a landing need a rail made to fit that exact staircase, so we measure the width, pitch and turns first and check where the rail can mount to the treads.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
