Wheelchair Maintenance
Free Monthly Workshops
Wheelchair maintenance is essential to your health and safety. A flat tire, bad caster bearings, or broken brakes are not only a risk to your safety, these equipment failures can prevent you from participating in the activities of your daily life, like going to the doctor and meeting with friends. We can help you keep your chair in tip-top maintenance.
Together with our partners we provide a free wheelchair maintenance workshops. The goal of this program is to provide tools and equipment to support learning, entry-level maintenance, and repairs for anyone who wants to learn more about wheelchair maintenance or is experiencing an urgent need.
What is a Wheelchair Maintenance Workshop?
The Wheelchair Maintenance Workshop offers a private, well-equipped space for people using wheelchairs to learn about upkeep and repairs. Tools are provided and experienced mechanics are available to teach participants basic maintenance on their chair.
We work with participants to enhance their skills, foster independence, and build confidence. Our workshops create space for people in wheelchairs to feel seen and heard by a community of people who understand. Working together, learning from one another, and offering support helps participants become part of the community.
The goal of the workshop is education and not just repair. Engaged participants will learn from the technician working on their chair and practice some components of the maintenance or repair. This program is not a repair service, but aims to teach participants how to complete their own minor repairs and upkeep.
Why is it important?
There is a significant gap between real-world repair needs and what insurance provides. Wheelchair users rely heavily on Durable Medical Equipment providers (DME) for repairs that can take months.
Neglecting minor repairs and upkeep can lead to damaged equipment and health problems for the user.
Learn more about the severity of the wheelchair repair crisis.
- After private equity firms gobbled up wheelchair makers, users pay the price in long repair times
- Why Do Wheelchair Repairs Take So Long?
- A broken wheelchair can bring life to a standstill and create multiple problems
- Two Behemoths Dominate the Motorized Wheelchair Industry. Disabled Customers Pay the Price.
- No one should have to wait so long for wheelchair repairs!
- Millions rely on wheelchairs for mobility, but repair delays are hurting users
Education is the key.
Repairs are invevitable, but formal training specific to wheelchair repair is scarce. Our staff use a combination of real world experience, community resources, sharing knowledge, and online training to ensure they have the necessary skills.
Our community’s wealth of real-world experience and collective knowledge is our greatest asset.
You can help!
Bicycle technicians have the expertise to adjust spokes, change tires or tubes, replace bearings, lubricate moving parts, and adjust brakes, making their skills perfectly suited for wheelchair maintenance.
Despite the variety of wheelchair designs, 95% of repairs can be performed with basic hand tools.
