Above image: Charlotte Satterwaite and her son, Austin Satterwaite / White River Area Agency on Aging’s Logan Vest with Louise Hooper of Carpet Corner in Batesville
Article by Andrea Bruner, White River Now
When Mark and Charlotte Satterwaite moved from Arizona to Arkansas in late 2023, they thought they’d found the perfect house for their son Austin, who uses a motorized wheelchair. But a year later, they were facing some extensive repairs – and worrying how everything would get done.
Fortunately, a group of individuals and nonprofits stepped up to make Christmas a little brighter for this Izard County family.
Austin Satterwaite, 34, was born with cerebral palsy and lived much of his life in Scottsdale, a suburb of Phoenix. His brother and sister-in-law had both retired from the Army and found a homestead in Arkansas, so when Mark and Charlotte retired, they too began looking for a place to live that would be more economically viable.
They were lucky enough to find a home in the Franklin area that had undergone renovations for a former occupant who had been wheelchair-bound, Austin explained, but unfortunately that person had died before actually getting to move into the new room.
The Satterwaites were able to secure the home before it ever went on the market, but the weight of his motorized wheelchair was not only scuffing the floors but also causing rips and tears in places.
“I’m a big guy, and it’s a heavy chair – the wheels kept breaking the floorboards. It became unsafe and you could see the floorboards shifting when I moved from the bed to the chair, or to the toilet. We’ve been trying to find ways to make it more accessible,” Austin said.
He reached out to White River Area Agency on Aging (WRAAA) in hopes they could help him find resources to get a new floor, and that’s when the WRAAA team came together. Care Managers Megan Franks and Brandy Rounds and Ticket to Work Coordinator Logan Vest joined forces to seek resources for Austin. Vest, who also serves on the Independence County Crisis Coalition (ICCC), took the lead in reaching out to the ICCC and other businesses.
The ICCC is a group of “people helpers” coming together to meet needs in the community, explained Alexandra McClain, who is also a member of the Independence County Crisis Coalition. Outside of that, she is the director of fundraising for the Myers-Davis Foundation.
McClain said crisis coalitions started as a local initiative within the U.S. Veterans Administration but grew to reach more people.
The Independence County coalition held its first meeting in October 2023 and meets monthly except for November and December, with different businesses and industries hosting. Vest and McClain said even though there is not an in-person meeting during those months, members still communicate to continue meeting needs in the community.
“It can be something small, like a school counselor reaching out to us because she had a student who needed a highchair for her baby, or as big as something like this,” McClain said.
There have also been drug and suicide interventions, NARCAN training, and job placements through coalition members.
“We aim to be a hub of resources in the area where people know that if they can’t meet those needs, then someone on the crisis coalition can or will partner to meet those needs, like we have now,” McClain said. “We represent several businesses and many different types of industries.”
McClain said the next step is to obtain a 501(c)3 and form a board of directors, while continuing to build the network of resources to better fulfill needs in the community.
Vest said he appreciates these businesses and industries being willing to set aside an hour or two each month to come meet and talk about needs in the area and take turns sharing information about their company.
When the Satterwaites notified WRAAA about the flooring being damaged and potentially preventing Austin from traveling to his bedroom, Vest said he called Carpet Corner in Batesville and talked with Louise Hooper, and Carpet Corner sent a contractor to the house to see what materials and laborers would be needed.
Carpet Corner also donated new subflooring as well as vinyl flooring for free, and the contractor agreed to drastically reduce his labor costs to $450.
“I called Alex and asked what she thought, and she said she would put it in the group chat right then. I have a 10-minute drive home and by the time I got home, we’d already raised the money,” Vest said.
Those coming together to help with donations include WRAAA, Myers-Davis Foundation, Veterans of Foreign Wars local post #4501, and Wes Holt.
“I knew this would be a good opportunity to come together and help this gentleman and his family, especially right before Christmas,” Vest said. “Everyone knows in the nonprofit world, come late November and December you’re pretty tapped for the year, or your funds are committed for different things, so it’s great to have that resource where we could all collaborate to meet this need in time for the holidays.
“I came in on the second meeting (of the coalition) and have gained so many resources that now when somebody has a problem, I pretty much know someone who can help.”
Charlotte, who is a retired occupational therapy assistant and is now a full-time caregiver to Austin, said she too feels blessed by the community pulling together to help her family.
She said when they moved here one of the first things they did was to build a storm shelter that was wheelchair accessible. That’s when they knew for sure they weren’t in Arizona anymore.
“If you’ve been to Franklin, you’ll see how spread out we are – my friends can’t imagine me living this life,” she said with a laugh. “I’m gardening and everything. We don’t have DoorDash but we do have Walmart delivery!”
She continued, “I’m just so grateful and can’t thank them enough for what they have done for my son. We would have had to tear up the flooring and do all that ourselves. These guys that came to know their stuff – I just can’t believe how nice this floor came out for him.”
“My mom is essentially my support,” Austin said.
Austin Satterwaite (center) with (standing, from left) Megan Franks and Logan Vest from White River Area Agency on Aging and contractors Tommy McGaha and Troy Herrington
He said coming to Arkansas was a bit of a culture shock – particularly when they left the flat, desert-like flatlands of Scottsdale for the windy, hilly roads of northern Arkansas, where cows seem to outnumber the people, at least in Austin’s eyes as he and his “very scared yellow lab” rode through a series of flyover states.
With an AA in film production and writing, Austin said he now can continue exploring career opportunities in writing.
He also said he couldn’t have found more caring individuals to make sure his family was taken care of. “We are just overwhelmed and happy – we are so thankful for the community and how much they have helped us.”
The Satterwaite floor before (left) and after
All images provided by WRAAA’s Logan Vest for White River Now
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