Adelante has been running the Back in Use program since July 2010, in an effort to re-use wheelchairs, walkers, hospital beds, and other durable medical equipment. Too often, those items gather dust when people no longer need or use them, and the reality is a lot of other people are in desperate need of those devices. That’s where Adelante steps in. We collect, clean, sanitize, and give away equipment to people who need it.
For many years, it was run by our facilities team as a 1 day a week community service. In 2018, Back in Use was co-located with GiveABQ, Adelante’s newest location in downtown Albuquerque, 1520 1st Street NW. The cross-trained team and location being open several days more each week has helped Adelante more than double the amount of equipment we have been able to give in previous years.
Back in Use officially moved in late summer 2018. The program is generously supported by the New Mexico Technology Assistance Program (NMTAP), Poms and Associates, the United Way Community Fund, and New Mexico Mutual. We run a quarterly report for NMTAP as a measure of how the program is functioning and helping people with disabling conditions in our state. The first full report at the new location showed that more days of access really boosted the amount of equipment that we had, because donors had more access to the program as did people who came to get equipment.
In the last quarter of 2017, October, November, and December, 115 pieces of durable medical equipment were given away. During the same months of 2018, the first where Back in Use shared the resources of GiveABQ, the number increased to 280. That’s 165 more durable medical devices we were able to give away and so many more people helped through Back in Use.
The Back in Use team is really happy to have a new, more permanent location, not to mention sharing resources like a truck and staff members with the GiveABQ site.
Back in Use is a valuable resource that Adelante understands is really a benefit to our community. Many seniors and people with disabilities need these items, but can’t afford them. Insurance doesn’t always cover it, either.
If you have equipment like a wheelchair, walker, or shower chair to donate, please contact us. If you know if someone who needs this kind of equipment, please complete a request at BackinUse.org.
