Strive Mobility, a mobility equipment rental company, was created after the personal experiences of founder Shailen and his family when trying to travel with disability aids for his son. He hopes that offering people the option to easily rent mobility aids will enable more disabled people and their families to travel and get out and about. Find out more about the benefits of renting mobility equipment and what services Strive Mobility offers.
Can you tell Disability Horizons readers about the experiences that influenced you starting Strive Mobility?
Our son is severely disabled as a result of a brain injury at birth. Nevertheless, my wife and I have done our best to do as much as possible with our son. We have made it a priority to go on holidays, attend parties, take walks in parks… to live a full life.
This was easy enough to do when he was younger and smaller. But as he has grown older and taller, we’ve faced challenges, particularly with regards to travelling with mobility aids.
For example, how do we get him from the hotel room to the poolside without a wheelchair? How do we get him out of bed without the use of a hoist? We have to travel with it all. However, as we all know, trying to get somewhere with all our mobility aids is far from straightforward.
On a holiday a few years ago we got chatting to the parents of another disabled boy about this very problem. They had brought a wheelchair and other disability equipment with them from the UK, the process of which they found exceptionally difficult. But they wouldn’t have come on holiday without their son’s equipment – it was a tricky situation either way.
It got me thinking; ‘What if you didn’t have to take the equipment with you, but could easily rent it on location?’ It was then that Strive Mobility was conceived. You can read more about our history on the Strive Mobility website.
I felt that if mobility equipment was more easily accessible at a destination, it would encourage some disabled people and their families to travel more.
What are the benefits of renting mobility equipment rather than buying your own?
Mobility equipment can be expensive to buy, and a complete pain to travel with. That is why renting makes sense.
If you’re going on holiday but don’t necessarily want to take all your equipment with you, why not rent a wheelchair, mobility scooter, hire a hoist, or any other disability equipment that you need so that it’s available at the destination upon arrival?!
Renting also gives you the opportunity to try an item out before actually purchasing it, so that you don’t make a costly mistake.
Cost is a particular factor if a wheelchair or hospital bed, for example, is only needed for a short period of time or a specific purpose.
For example, it could be that you have a short-term injury that requires a wheelchair or hoist to help aid you, but only while you recover. Or you might have a guest staying with you who has a need for a shower commode.
In these cases, it wouldn’t make sense to buy something if it won’t be needed long-term.
What services does Strive Mobility provide?
Strive Mobility currently rents mobility equipment for delivery and collection around most of the UK. Equipment available includes:
- hoists
- ramps
- chairs
- walking aids
- wheelchairs
- mobility scooters
- bedroom aids
- paediatric equipment
- bathroom equipment.
We have partnered up with a UK distributor of mobility aids, who has agreed to take care of all logistics and supplies. We can, therefore, focus on making sure that our users get the best possible service and pricing.
Our ambition is to be a global provider of mobility aids and equipment. But we felt that we need to get it right in the UK first before reaching out to other countries.
What is the process of renting mobility equipment through Strive Mobility?
Our home page says it all, ‘The simple way of renting mobility equipment online’. Users simply have to go to www.StriveMobility.com and click on the ‘Mobility Category‘ page. There they will be able to see a whole host of products (wheelchairs, mobility scooters, profile beds, hoists, etc) available to rent.
The pricing is clear and there are no additional charges, such as delivery or collection, that come up at the checkout page. Insurance is also included on many of our powered items, so again this makes life easier for our users.
What do you hope to achieve by starting this mobility aids rental company?
We hope to enable disabled people and their families to be able to get out and about with a little more ease. We also want to make people aware that there are alternatives to just buying equipment, which can be expensive.
It is often the lack of suitable facilities (either equipment or accommodation) that can prohibit people from travelling, so we want to spread the word that there are other options.
There are many solutions provided by the likes of Accomable (now Airbnb), Limitless Travel and now Strive Mobility that can make life just that much easier for those with a disability.
To learn more about Strive Mobility and the products that are available to rent, visit: www.StriveMobility.com.
By Shannon Kelly
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