An early history of CAS describes their desire to “give help to people who fall through the cracks of assistance from other agencies, and to those who usually provide for their families and themselves, but who, because of illness, hardships or convalescence need some special assistance without regard for the scrutiny, rules and regulations that so many organizations require before help can be given.”
The original location was a storefront facing Fair Oaks in the Castle Green annex of the famous Hotel Green. During the first year of operation, CAS provided 12 wheelchairs to post surgery patients to (what is now) Huntington Hospital. A thrift store was founded and the proceeds were donated to people who needed assistance. This included a free micro loan, donations of beds and wheelchairs, and scholarships to PCC nursing students.
Through the 1980,’s the thrift store revenues grew from $13,000 to $100.000 after CAS moved to a larger facility on Colorado Blvd. Eventually CAS closed the thrift store, purchased the building on Foothill Blvd., and focused on loaning out Durable Medical Equipment. Between 2004 and 2014, CAS increased the number of clients served by 400% thanks to state of the art sanitation and inventory management capabilities.
Today nearly 28,748 pieces of equipment are currently in area homes including 2,430 wheelchairs that were loaned out last year. Not only does CAS place durable medical equipment including beds, wheelchairs, bath chairs, commodes, canes and crutches in homes, it provides the service of recycling. By accepting gently used equipment, making any necessary repairs and providing state of the art sanitizing, CAS has kept 65 tons of equipment out of area landfills.
Now approaching 100 years of service to people in the San Gabriel Valley, CAS is preparing for expansion of its services through the next century. Stay tuned.
