It's the little things that make life easier, and the local chapter of an assistive device organization are looking for people who know how to make little things happen.
The Prince George chapter of the Tetra Society of North America held its first official meet and greet Saturday afternoon at the College of New Caledonia.
Tetra is a non-profit organization, founded in 1987 in Vancouver, that recruits skilled volunteers to create customized assistive devices for people with physical disabilities.
These can range from table leg extensions to allow wheelchair access to adapted Wii remote controllers for someone with a spinal cord injury.
"Everyone should be active in their community and there are so many barriers where there shouldn't be," said Kile. "We're helping to bridge that gap."
The local group, led by co-ordinator Theresa Kile, is seeking engineers, architects, occupational therapists, carpenters, designers, machinists, electricians and fabricators willing to put in anywhere from five to 50 hours of time on a project.
Clients can be anyone between two and 100 years of age that have mobility issues and require non-commercially made or available assistive aids.
"Someone can sit down and in a few hours make it up in their workshop at home while some have been a labour love with many hours of work," Kile explained.
Kile said she was drawn to the inclusive nature of the organization.
"They don't exclude anybody. It doesn't matter if you have [multiple sclerosis], cancer, cerebral palsy. If you have mobility issues, you need a mobility device, we can help with that," she said.
Volunteers get reimbursed for expenses and are covered by the society's insurance. Clients are expected to pay for the cost of materials for their devices, but that's a price that comes in far cheaper than if they had to pay professional consultants to create a customized aid.
"Everybody should be able to enjoy life. There are so many things able-bodied people take for granted," said Kile, who was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome a few years ago. She said she is hoping to take advantage of some of the many devices created through Tetra to once again enjoy the outdoors in ways she used to before being relegated to a walker or powerchair.
Kile said she will be hosting a volunteer meeting within the month. For updates or more information, visit www.tetrasociety.org or contact Theresa Kile at [email protected].
