Timothy Steinbrink

Tim Steinbrink started out in the trades like many of us, working for his dad’s electrical contracting firm in Sterling Heights, Michigan while still in high school. He cleaned up jobsites and performed various tasks at the office. Following high school, Tim apprenticed as a full-time electrician, planning to follow in his father’s footsteps. “It was a fun job,” he recalled. “I liked seeing other people’s houses and making things work for them.” All that changed however during a spring break trip to Flagler Beach, Florida in 1987.

When the wave hit him, he was pushed hard to the shallow bottom he had been standing on just seconds before. “I was not on drugs or alcohol,” Tim said. “It was just a freak accident.” He was paralyzed from the mid-chest down, at C5/C6. Tim has the use of both of his arms, but not 100%. He has the use of his wrists but not his fingers. For the next 20 years, Tim lived at home, saving his money so he could buy a house and live on his own. Once stabilized following his accident, Tim arrived at a point that all people who are severely disabled reach at one time or other. He needed to redefine his personal life, both in terms of his capabilities as well as his career.

He decided to embark on a new career which involved customizing employment and vocational rehabilitation in the state of Michigan. He started out his new career as a transition specialist, assisting young students coming out of high school and child services and going into secondary education, employment, housing, transportation and adult community services. He moved on to become an employment advisor for the United Cerebral Palsy Association, and later worked on strategic planning and design of a customized employment process, utilizing grants from the U.S. Department of Labor And the U.S. Office of Disability Employment Policy. His work in this area has positively impacted government service delivery systems and people with disabilities, benefiting clients such as Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit and local centers in Michigan for independent living, among others. He has also served on the boards of a number of organizations in Michigan who are focused on employment and independent living for persons with disabilities.

In recent years, Tim was diagnosed with cancer, and had to quit working so he could focus on his recovery and his health. He now relies on some money he has been able to save along with Social Security disability. About his economic situation, Tim says “I live in my own home and have a van, I pay all my bills and have a little left over for social activities. I am not rich but I have my home, family and service dog Olive.” Meanwhile, there was a problem with his home that while not major, represented a big problem for him. That problem involved the sidewalk from his home to his garage. Tim could not go out the front door of his house to get to his garage, because the sidewalk heaved up at one point. That left the sidewalk coming from his back door to the garage as his only viable fire exit, but it too had a problem. That sidewalk was narrow and very bumpy, plus a downspout crossed over the sidewalk. (See picture at top) Tim went online to look for a foundation that could help him with his problem, and because of his initial background working for an electrical contractor, he sought help from the Joseph Groh foundation.

Thanks to our donors generosity, the foundation was able to help Tim!