DYER – Reaching 100 wins is impressive when you are a baseball pitcher, a football coach or a track athlete, but it represents living safely in your home to the 100 families helped in the past six years by the St. Michael Wheelchair Ramp Ministry.
“We really just like to see people get out and be mobile; people are so thankful to just get out of their door without asking others to lift them out,” said Jim Koeling, of St. John, who started the ministry in 2019 under the sponsorship of St. Michael the Archangel in Schererville, where he volunteered with the Rebuilding Together Ministry.
Homeowner Bill Greenfield, who benefits from the 100th installation along with his wife, Nancy – he uses a scooter or wheelchair and she uses a walker – echoed Koeling’s remarks. “This ramp represents mobility to us,” he said. “It will give us the freedom to get out of the house, whether it’s just to the front yard to water my plants or to get access to our garage so we can get to our van, which is handicapped-accessible.
“Until now, if I got on the floor, we had to call the fire department to pick me up,” he added.
Nancy Greenfield said she “felt trapped in my home. What if there was a fire? We could get out to our deck, but there is no way to get off the deck. We would have to call a neighbor for help.”
Bill Greenfield said the couple has a neighbor, Mary Lou Jandura, who they call “our angel on earth,” and she installed a spigot on a pipe extension to give Greenfield access to their outdoor faucet. “With this ramp, I can now reach that spigot and water my flowers,” he said. “That makes me so happy, just to get out and get some fresh air.”
Koeling said it is “out of the realm of anything that this ministry is so successful. None of this could have happened without the Holy Spirit.”
When he began the ministry, people could call the St. Michael parish office to request help and Koeling would determine what kind of ramp was needed depending on the orientation of the home, then try to secure used ramp parts with available funds.
Thanks to donations and grants, as well as storage space secured by Deacon Tom Kubik, of Dyer, who works at Holy Name of Jesus in Cedar Lake and volunteers with the ramp ministry, Koeling has accumulated enough new and used aluminum ramp materials to create what he calls “an equilibrium. We can usually meet the need with what we have on hand, rather than have to search for materials. When a family no longer needs the ramp, we retrieve it and can re-use the materials.”
Koeling has gained so much expertise that one of his ramp suppliers has tried to hire him as a regional representative, a job the 77-year-old has declined. “I don’t want a job,” he said with a smile. I can’t do this (volunteer work) forever, so I hope to hand it on to someone younger.”
The ministry has even been able to provide an outdoor lift in a few cases where a ramp was not feasible, noted Kubik. “We just installed our third one, in Gary. We try to do whatever is needed.
Rick Besich, of St. John, was recruited to the crew by Kubik two years ago. “We have to follow the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) rules as for the slope-to-distance ratio, and every ramp is a little different,” he said. “This is a worthwhile endeavor, to get people mobile and give them a better quality of life.”
Koeling recalls that the ministry began “after a Northwest Indiana Times article about the Kiwanis of Valparaiso building ramps in nearby counties. With their guidance, the effort was brought to Lake County. With the support of Deacon Tom Kubik, Father Martin Dobrzynski (pastor of St. Michael) and the Diocese of Gary Mercy Fund, the ministry was established within a month.
“The first ramp was installed in the Miller neighborhood of Gary on Nov. 2, 2019 and since then, ramps have been installed in many communities, including Whiting, East Chicago, Dyer and Crown Point,” Koeling said.
“Funding has come from the Catholic foundation’s Mercy Fund, the Legacy Foundation, Praxair-Linde, J.W. Anderson Foundation, Franciscan SIPP grants, the Crown Point Community Foundation, Schererville Civic Foundation, the Dyer Lions Club and generous parishioners,” added Koeling.
“This is just wonderful, and I was in total shock when they said they could install the ramp less than a week after we called,” Bill Greenfield said. “We are ecstatic to be the 100th recipients. God meant for this to be.”
Koeling agreed. “This ministry’s success is a testament to the power of the Holy Spirit and the good that can happen when faith is put into action,” he said. “God is good.”
To participate in the St. Michel Wheelchair Ramp Ministry as a volunteer or donor, contact the St. Michael parish office at 322-4505.
If you know of anyone who may benefit from the services, contact Catholic Charities at 886-3549 or outreach@catholic-charities.org and ask for Daniela Ocanas.
Caption: Homeowner Bill Greenfield, the 100th recipient of a lifechanging ramp from the St. Michael Wheelchair Ramp Ministry, thanks the three ministry volunteers, (from left) Deacon Tom Kubik, Rick Besich and ministry leader Jim Koeling. “This ramp gives my wife and I freedom, the ability to get out of the house, and offers us safety in case of a fire or other emergency,” said Greenfield. (Marlene A. Zloza photo)
