On June Meints’s 90th birthday, the table was set with her favorite dishes (the ones individually crafted to look like different flowers, including the teacups) that are normally kept in the tall glass cabinet for display. Her housekeeper helped her get everything in place. As the family arrived, they were greeted not just by grandma and the smell of her famous desserts, but the memories that cover the walls. It’s not just Meints’s home, it’s the family home where stories are shared and traditions treasured.

Like Meints, most seniors in the United States plan on staying in the comfort and familiarity of their own home as long as they can before possibly moving to an assisted living community. This works well when they have family and neighbors nearby who check in regularly. Meints’s daughter comes to take her grocery shopping weekly and spends time afterward, watching shows and catching up with her mom. Meints’s neighbors are also helpful; one even installed handrails in the bathroom and garage when her late husband returned from the hospital. Those rails are now proving useful for Meints too. She knows she is blessed to have friends and family who watch out for her. Unfortunately, many seniors do not.

Community in Motion + Volunteers in Motion

Community in Motion (CiM) is a local nonprofit that provides, among other services, a network, called Volunteers in Motion, that seniors and people with disabilities can call upon for rides to medical appointments, grocery stores, social events, meal distribution sites and more. “Seniors who are ‘aging in place’ often become isolated when they stop driving [and can’t] use public transportation or because they live in rural areas,” says Jessica Wilson, specialty transportation coordinator with Community in Motion. “Through just 14 volunteer drivers, Community in Motion fulfills roughly 80 rides per month.”

While CiM caters to Clark County residents over age 65, anyone who has a disability and needs transportation can request help. “Unlike other agencies, for us having a disability means it could be temporary, not permanent,” says Wilson. “A temporary disability, for example, might be an injury like a broken foot or when recovering from a surgery.”

While C-TRAN operates with specific public transportation guidelines and ADA standards, Volunteers in Motion has more flexibility to fill in service gaps. “For instance, [C-TRAN’s] eligibility process takes about 21 days,” explains Wilson. “Sometimes we provide transportation while someone’s paratransit application is processing. Additionally, we can help those who live where C-TRAN does not travel, such as North Clark County, or who need to travel during times of the morning or night that the bus does not run. Dialysis treatments are often given in the early hours of the morning and late hours of the night.”

Meeting the Need

Regular volunteer, Dolores L., was looking for somewhere to volunteer after her retirement. She chose Community in Motion because, “I could see that there was a great need, but also volunteering with them, I had the flexibility to take on as many rides as I felt able to,” she says. After completing the trainings, she was given emergency roadside and first aid kits and an ID badge to ensure safety for both driver and rider. Passing the safe driving test even got her a car insurance discount.

An answering service screens calls for rides and adds requests to a spreadsheet list accessed by volunteers. The list provides all the job details, such as pickup and drop-off location and time. “If a community member needs to go to the grocery store or somewhere else that doesn’t require an appointment like a walk-in medical lab or hair salon, listed instead is the expected activity duration, the hours and days of operation,” says Wilson. “This might include a client’s preferred times of the day or week and client’s availability.” Once a ride request is selected by a volunteer, it is removed from the spreadsheet.

Dolores has found that the flexibility works well with her schedule, “It’s a great way to serve,” she says, adding, “I am a voracious reader, belonging to two book clubs, so I often read waiting for the rider’s appointment to complete. I just find a comfortable parking spot, push back my seat and relax.”

Additionally, she enjoys the conversation and learning new things from those she drives. “I am continually impressed by the wonderful, interesting people out there. I drove one gentleman who we exchanged basic pleasantries with on the way to his appointment, but on the way back—it was about a 30-minute drive—we discovered we both loved watching cooking shows and he gave me some really good recipe ideas that I am incorporating in my meals. Another lady taught me some very clever gardening hints that I have used in my garden.”

“Lack of transportation can seriously affect a person’s physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being,” says Wilson. Dolores adds, “A lot of folks who need rides live by themselves, and in addition to the rides you can provide the attention and conversation that I think many of them enjoy.”

The need for more drivers is ongoing. To learn more about volunteering with Community in Motion, go to CommunityinMotion.org.

Go here to read about more community organizations in our monthly “Helping Hands” column.

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