Personal Stories

John and Sandra Pagliero

The Three Rivers Center for Independent Living (TRCIL) in Pittsburgh looks to promote equality, expand opportunities, and increase independence for people with disabilities. Lofty goals that come down to helping individuals connect with the resources they need, including PATF.

Assistive technology is often a key to helping TRCIL consumers, as was the case with John and Sandra Pagliero. Each has cerebral palsy (CP). Residing in a high-rise building with coin operated laundry room washing machines located in the basement made the laundering of bed linens and clothes a real struggle. Besides spending a lot of their disposable income, John had to balance the laundry basket on his walker during trips between their residence and the laundry room. His CP also made it difficult to safely reach into the washer and dryer to retrieve the linens and clothing.

TRCIL helped the couple identify an apartment-size front-loading washer and dryer as assistive technology. The Pagliero’s applied for a mini-loan / mini-grant through the Foundation. Their monthly loan payments are just $20.00 a month – much less than they were spending to use the coin operated facilities.

“Because of the loan, we are far more independent and have less stress,” John said. “We are very happy with PATF.” Kevin Huwe, the Assistive Technology Program Manager at TRCIL, said the program refers consumers to PATF on almost a daily basis. “We love PATF’s service,” he said. “It helps so many people.”