PORTLAND, Ore. — For people with mobility issues, exploring parks and beaches can be difficult — requiring expensive, specialized equipment to do so. But now an Oregon group is working to bring more electric all-terrain trackchairs to the Portland metro.
The nonprofit David's Chair recently partnered with Oregon Parks Forever to bring one of these chairs to American Legion Post 158 in Tigard. The chairs are similar to electric wheelchairs, they last up to 8 hours and you can operate them in just about any environment.
Steve Furst is the founder and CEO of David's Chair. Five years ago, his friend David started having mobility issues. They raised enough money to get David one of these chairs, but this gave them the idea of growing their mission. The nonprofit was started in order to give others with mobility issues access to outdoor experiences they might not otherwise get without specialized chairs.
Currently the organization has seven chairs and most of them are in Southern Oregon. The chairs are free for people to use, you just reserve them online at davidschair.org. Furst said the goal is now to bring more chairs to the Portland area.
"It's going to come down to raising the funds to get more chairs to be able to go to those spots," Furst said. "We are a nonprofit and the chairs are 15 to 24 thousand dollars depending on the type."
Over the next couple of years, the nonprofits are working to find hosts at American Legion posts, V.F.W. halls and tourism-related entities along the Oregon Coast and the I-5 corridor, where chairs can be stored and made available for people with mobility challenges.
73-year-old veteran Michael Ireton had the chance to use one of the chairs in Champoeg State Park.
"I've got arthritis really bad, it makes it a little bit difficult for me to go out and walk trails and things," Ireton said. "I think this is going to be great for going out and doing your trail hike somewhere."