A Louisville mother is lifting her 17-year-old daughter's wheelchair over a set of stairs every day after someone stole the ramp that let the teen safely leave her own home. Brittney Harbin discovered the ramp missing on Nov. 6, just days before her daughter, Cerenity Harbin, is set to prepare for spine surgery.
Cerenity, who is finishing her senior year of high school, told WLKY that her mother now has to physically lift her wheelchair over the stairs without the ramp that previously let her come and go safely. Brittney called the discovery shocking, according to WLKY, which first reported the theft. The ramp had allowed Cerenity to access her home without assistance, and its disappearance has made basic daily movement far harder for the teen and her mother alike.
This isn't the first time the family has had something taken from their property. Brittney's family experienced a garage break-in and theft last summer in which thieves made off with electric bikes, exercise equipment and sentimental items that belonged to her late husband, who died of stomach cancer last year. Brittney said the repeated incidents have left her and her children feeling vulnerable as they continue grieving.
A Family Trying To Rebuild Security
“We should feel safe,” Brittney said, describing what she wants for her family's home, per the WLKY report. The Harbins are now looking into a more permanent wheelchair ramp and have started a GoFundMe to help cover the cost of replacing it, with restoring Cerenity's safe access to the house and the family's overall sense of security as their top priorities.
Despite the setback, Cerenity is trying to stay focused on her senior year and the things she loves — creating art and animations on her phone, with hopes of studying art and animation in college. Louisville police are asking anyone with video or information about the theft to call the anonymous tip line at (502) 574-LMPD.
What Ramp Replacement Can Actually Cost — And How Long It Can Take
Replacing a ramp is rarely simple or cheap. The Center for Accessible Living says the average cost of a ramp runs between roughly $5,000 and $13,000, and the organization notes that anyone living in the Louisville Metro area with a permanent mobility impairment may be eligible for its ramp program, though eligibility can vary depending on rules set by funding sources. The group also says the typical wait to actually receive a ramp through its program is 2 to 2.5 years.
For families who need something sooner, the center's Ramp Up Kentucky initiative lets people borrow a portable aluminum ramp at no cost for up to six months. A community resource guide from UofL Health–Frazier Rehab Institute lists several other Louisville-area organizations offering ramp assistance, but cautions that funds are very limited and most of those agencies have waiting lists of their own. The same guide notes that Medicare and Medicaid do not provide any funding for ramp installation, leaving many families to cover the cost themselves or lean on nonprofit programs like the Center for Accessible Living's Rampbuilders initiative, which provides custom-designed ramps and railings at no cost to recipients whenever possible, according to a listing on Findhelp.
Ramp Thefts Have Left Others Stranded Too
The Harbins' situation echoes similar cases reported elsewhere. In South Bend, Indiana, an 82-year-old woman named Sharon Lundy was left without the handicap ramp she needed to enter and leave her home after a 15-foot ramp vanished from her property in broad daylight, according to WSBT. Police there initially circulated a photo of a vehicle seen leaving the area but later said it was no longer considered a suspect vehicle; a Facebook group eventually banded together to order Lundy a replacement ramp.
In Los Angeles, firefighters stepped in to fabricate a custom wooden ramp for a disabled resident who had been trapped inside her home for days after her ramp was stolen, per NBC Los Angeles. And in New Eagle, Pennsylvania, a man named Walter Horner said a driver struck and destroyed his ramp before fleeing, forcing him to cancel a doctor's appointment, according to WPXI. Each case underscores how quickly losing a ramp can cut off someone's ability to leave their own home, and how uneven the path to a fast replacement can be.
