What is it like when a person's home becomes their prison? What must it be like to feel trapped in a place that should be a person's sanctuary? And the next logical question becomes, what can be done to change this?

Charles "Chuck" Miller knows the answers to all of these questions through his own personal experience. Mr. Miller was born with cerebral palsy, was able to lead a productive life, got married, had two sons and worked at Pennsylvania Power and Light for 23 years. They have lived comfortably in a single ­family two-story farm-type house in Duboistown in Lycoming County. However, when Mr. Miller was in his mid-forties things started to change. He began falling a lot and his doctor recommended that he go to a specialist in Rochester, New York for evaluation and diagnosis. At that time approximately two years ago, Mr. Miller found out that he had congenital spinal stenosis causing neuropathic quadriparesis, causing decreased use of his limbs. Mr. Miller had surgery to prevent further damage to his spinal cord and tried physical therapy which was not effective for him.

Although Mr. Miller has limited mobility, he has been managing to get around, although it has been a struggle. He recently got a big, jazzy brand power chair and the Lion's Club funded a lift for the family van. He did mention that he has had the wheelchair for about six months and half of that time it has been in the shop for service. This type of living has been a struggle for him and his wife. Although he is able to transfer out of his wheelchair and step into the shower on his own, his house is not accessible and he faces barriers everyday.

The Center for Independent Living of North Central Pennsylvania (CILNCP) is an agency that advances the rights of persons with disabilities through the elimination of barriers that people with disabilities experience. Mr. Miller has been receiving services from CILNCP and this is where he met Bonnie Ludwig. Ms. Ludwig, currently the Housing Advocacy Coordinator with the Self-Determination Housing Project of Pennsylvania, used to be the Housing Program Manager at CILNCP. She learned about his living arrangement and suggested that Mr. Miller look into some home modifications in his house so that his home would be more accessible, therefore improving the quality of his life by allowing him to be more independent.

There were no grants available so Ms. Ludwig recommended that Mr. Miller get in touch with the Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation (PATF), a non-profit agency that provides low-interest loans for home modifications. In order to apply for the loan Mr. Miller had to state the type of work he wanted done as well as submit an estimate form the contractor. Ms. Miller was able to recommend a contractor to Mr. Miller who could help him with this information, and then Mr. Miller got in touch with PATE. Mr. Miller was a perfect candidate for a loan.

The lending institution that PATF works with is Sovereign Bank. Usually the loans are processed fairly quickly, but because this was the first loan in this particular geographic area, there was an issue with the location being in a flood plain. The process took a little longer than usual, but on September 25^th, 2005 Mr. Miller was able to get a $25,000 loan with a 4 percent interest rate. Mr. Miller retained Centura Builders, the contractor recommended by Ms. Ludwig, whose next opening to do the work was in a month. The contractor officially began home modifications on October 31^st, 2005.

Mr. Miller and the contractors developed plans for several different modifications. They first installed a 40 foot ramp off of the back porch which involved leveling the patio approximately 7 inches. In addition, the patio door was widened to 36 inches, making it easier for Mr. Miller to get out of the door in his wheelchair. On the first floor of Mr. Miller's home, there are two living areas. One was used as a playroom for his sons who are both now grown. The playroom is being converted into a bedroom and plans to modify the downstairs bathroom will make the first floor completely accessible. The bathroom will include an accessible shower, a wall hung sink and a set-in commode. When asked about the quality of the work being done, Mr. Miller commented, "They do very good work and really take their time with what they are doing."

In addition, renovations are being made in the kitchen. A dishwasher and garbage disposal were put in, and the kitchen floor is being leveled and raised and new linoleum will be installed. Purchasing new counters and cupboards was more expensive than what Mr. Miller could afford, and so he and the contractor came up with the creative alternative of raising the kitchen floor. This will allow Mr. Miller to have better access to the existing counters and cupboards.

Mr. Miller is very pleased with the renovations, stating, "We would not have been able to do any of these modifications if it hadn't been for the loan from PATF. Everything for me and my wife has improved, getting around is not as much of a struggle."

Prior to the home modifications, another factor helped to improve the quality of Mr. Miller's life. In August of 2005, Mr. Miller "adopted" Andy, a golden retriever service dog from Eagle Wings, an agency that trains selected shelter dogs to assist individuals. Eagles' Wings Service Dogs assist individuals with picking up objects, carrying objects for their partner, and helping individuals with more specific needs such as turning light switches and .elevator buttons on and off, and retrieving portable phones. The dogs not only assist with physical activities but also give confidence and companionship to their human partners, permitting the individual to enter into community activities with a sense of independence. Mr. Miller had three weeks of training with Andy at Eagle Wings. Andy can open doors and the refrigerator, can take off his shoes and pants, and carries a variety of articles such as the portable phone and his water bottle. Mr. Miller noted, "Andy has been great companionship for me. I like to go swimming at the Y at night and he has been very helpful when I use public transportation - in fact I seem to get better service everywhere now that I have Andy!"