Jamisha Williams

Seven-year-old Jamisha Williams is positioned for success both at home and at school thanks to the positioning chair purchased for her by The Eric Fund.

Jamisha’s mother, Treliease, made several attempts to secure funding from government agencies and insurance companies to replace the positioning chair Jamisha had outgrown. As a single mother living in Washington, DC, with two children, Ms. Williams often found it difficult to supply Jamisha – who has cerebral palsy, epilepsy and who is non-verbal and non–ambulatory – with special adaptive equipment on her salary. Despite Ms. Williams’s persistence, however, the government agencies offered no assistance and her insurance companies would not cover the chair as it exceeded the allowable amount. 

That’s when Ms. Williams turned for help to Jamisha’s therapist, Lesley Douglas, at St. Coletta School of Greater Washington in Alexandria, Virginia. Ms. Douglas found out about The Eric Fund’s grant awards and encouraged Ms. Williams to apply.

With a more than $800 grant from The Eric Fund, a growing Jamisha can now use a positioning chair that will grow with her. She uses the chair both at school and at home where it allows her to sit in various positions throughout the day, a function that is critical to her development. Thanks to the new chair, Jamisha now has many more opportunities to participate in activities and interact with her classmates, family and friends.