About

Built by someone who lives it.

The DriveAble Foundation is not theoretical. It is founded and led by someone with low vision, working every day to solve the problems we know firsthand.

Jerrod Young with his family
The Founder

Jerrod Young

Jerrod Young founded The DriveAble Foundation because the system failed three generations of his family. Jerrod lives with ADOA, a progressive eye disease that corrective measures cannot resolve. His vision continues to decline. His father lost his independence to the same disease. His nephew, sixteen years old and capable of working, may never get a driver's license.

Capable people are being left behind because the world expects either perfect vision or total blindness. There is a gap in between, and we are the people who live in it. Jerrod is building this foundation to make sure the next person in that gap has somewhere to turn.

ADOA is one of many progressive eye diseases that cause vision loss. The foundation also serves people living with macular degeneration, glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa, Stargardt disease, diabetic retinopathy, optic neuropathy, and other low vision conditions. Whether someone is blind, visually impaired, or somewhere in between, the loss of safe driving means the loss of independence. We are here for all of them.

Pictured: Jerrod with his wife Kristin, son Colin, and family dog. Every founder needs people who show up. These are his.
Why This Work

The system has a gap. We live in it.

Most people pass a vision test once and never think about it again. For millions, that threshold becomes a wall they cannot cross. And the next threshold, the one for support, sits far on the other side.

Driver's License Requirements
20/40 vision
Pass the state vision test or you cannot legally drive. Most people clear it at sixteen and forget it exists.
The Space In Between
The Gap
Cannot drive safely. Not disabled enough to qualify for help. Capable, working-age, abandoned at every turn.
Disability Services Threshold
20/200 vision
Vision must drop to legally blind status before federal disability services activate any support.

The gap is where capable people lose the ability to participate, and where the foundation steps in.

Modern work requires vision

Screens, signs, fine print, faces, navigation. Today's economy assumes you can see clearly. When you can't, doors close that were never marked.

Modern life requires transportation

Public transit doesn't reach most of America. Most rideshares don't either. For someone who cannot drive, an entire life can become inaccessible by an hour outside a city.

The technology to fix this exists

Autonomous vehicles. Wearable assistive devices. Accessible tablets and software. The pieces are already here. They just are not reaching the people who need them most.

Why this foundation exists

The DriveAble Foundation closes that distance. We connect people in the gap to the tools that already exist, and we push for the ones that should. We refuse to accept that capable people get left behind.

What We Stand For

Four principles guide the work.

01

Authenticity

Founded and led by people with low vision. We are not guessing at what people need. We live it.

02

Independence

Independence is the goal. Not charity. Not pity. Tools that let people drive their own lives.

03

Innovation

We work with the technology that exists now and the technology arriving next. We do not wait.

04

Dignity

Every person in the gap deserves to be seen, supported, and given the means to participate fully.

The People

Small team. Real focus.

The foundation is intentionally lean. Every hour and every dollar goes into the work, not into overhead.

Founder

Jerrod Young

Founder, Board Chair, and Executive Director. Living with ADOA. Building what he wishes had existed for his father.

Communications

Kristin Young

Communications and Social Media Director. The voice of the foundation across every channel and every story we tell.

Board

Brent Wilson

Founding board member. Bringing financial and governance perspective as the foundation grows nationally.

Future

Building the Bench

We are actively recruiting advisors, board members, and partners aligned with the dual-pathway mission.

Get Involved

Want to be part of the work?

Whether you bring expertise, capital, or simply a story to tell, the foundation is built to grow with people who care.

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