It's true what they say: Necessity really is the mother of invention. And when people are desperate, necessity can lead to some truly terrifying contraptions.

Vernon Weiss has seen it firsthand in the ramps people have rigged at their homes. A "ramp" might be a rickety piece of plywood placed precariously over a steep set of steps. Maybe it's a couple of 2-by-12s propped against a deck.

The solution is a properly constructed, gently graded ramp - but a quality ramp doesn't come cheap, and not everyone can build one. That's where Weiss and the Missoula-based nonprofit he founded come in.

Regional Access Mobility Program of Montana provides wheelchair ramps and other accommodations, including grab bars and roll-in showers, to people who need them. In just under three years, the group has built a couple hundred ramps for senior citizens and people with disabilities in the Missoula area, Weiss said. More than 70 people are on the waiting list.

The idea, Weiss said, is to help people who otherwise couldn't afford the ramps and other accommodations on their own.

"When I started the RAMP project, the concept was - and still is - to meet the needs of people that fall between the cracks of the social system," he said.

Weiss, a member of his local chapter of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, conceived the idea for RAMP of Montana in 2006. He was on a union-related errand in Ravalli County when he saw a man with no legs.

The man, a veteran as well as a double amputee, had climbed out of his wheelchair and was crawling into his mobile home.

"It made me aware of some of the needs out there," Weiss said. "That was kind of the beginning of it."

Through the carpenters union, he found out about a nonprofit in Everett, Wash., that was building ramps for people in the area. The organization - really a one-man operation - was the original RAMP, Weiss said.

He opened a local chapter in Missoula in August 2006 and hopes to open a Kalispell office in the near future.

"Our vision is to be able to spread it to any town in Montana - and eventually the Northwest - that wants to start a RAMP program," Weiss said. "Kalispell is kind of the first spinoff."

RAMP's first foray into the Flathead starts July 18 with a community day at First Presbyterian Church. The church's youth group and a youth group from Valley Community Presbyterian Church in Golden Valley, Minn., have teamed up with RAMP of Montana to provide free ramps to 10 Flathead residents.

Several local businesses have supported the project by donating materials or providing items at cost. Weiss said he hopes community members likewise will show their support by showing up to help build ramps and find out more about the program.

"I never turn down help," he said with a chuckle. "Hopefully we'll have a lot of people show up."

In addition to volunteer labor, RAMP of Montana always appreciates donations to help provide people with access features they couldn't otherwise pay for. While Medicaid will pay for things such as wheelchairs or power chairs, Weiss said the government program won't pay for features that allow people to use those chairs in their homes.

"They won't even pay for a grab bar, which is really amazing to me," Weiss said. "You see people getting hover chairs but can't get in and out of their house to get on it. That's a big problem."

For further information about RAMP of Montana, visit the project's Web site at www.rampnw.org or search for it on Facebook.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com