Volunteer Drivers Desperately Needed

Imagine needing to travel out of town for medical reasons and being unable to drive yourself because you were unwell, frail, didn’t have access to a car or didn’t have a licence. What would you do?

Sliding in behind the wheel of a car is something that most of us take for granted, but there are people in our community that simply cannot do that and they need help to get to those important out-of-town appointments.

The Area Manager of the Young/Boorowa Community Transport Service, Kelly Rolfe, said that they were in desperate need of a few volunteer drivers to meet the needs of people who are unable to transport themselves to their appointments.

“We’ve never really got to the low levels we have at the moment,” Ms Rolfe said.

“One of the big impacts for us has been COVID.”

Volunteers aged 70 and over were required to step away from their roles due to the pandemic and once they were able to return, many of them decided not to.

The service needs to recruit half a dozen volunteers to meet the growing demand.

All volunteers must fulfil all Government requirements and undergo several checks, including Criminal Record and Working with Children checks and pass a driver medical. The costs of these checks are covered by the service.

They also supply training and uniforms and cover out-of-pocket expenses during trips.

If you have any spare time, even just a couple of hours, and would like to do something that could make a huge difference in someone’s life, consider calling the Community Transport office on 6382 1518 or pop into the office at the Marie McCormick Centre, 133 Main Street, Young and find out more.

• Topics:

• Health & Wellness
• Transportation