Media Release
Home & Community Support Services (HCSS) Grey Bruce is in urgent need for volunteers, especially volunteer drivers to support seniors and people with disabilities get to their surgeries, medical appointments, respite services and grocery shopping. We are having to decline many ride requests to vulnerable seniors without transportation due to a shortage of volunteer drivers.
“While the Pandemic has had negative impacts across Healthcare in terms of capacity and Staffing shortages, there is also another lingering threat that the not-for-profit sector is dealing with. Volunteerism is down – locally and nationally.” Says Stephen Musehl, Executive Director of HCSS Grey Bruce.
Before the pandemic, we had over 100 volunteer drivers, and that number is down to 55 – cutting our transportation capacity almost in half. However, I do want to commend the 55 drivers we have. Driving people throughout the pandemic, taking extra rides to help people reach their needed destination– they really have been unsung heroes of the pandemic to help people stay medically well and reduce their isolation.
In September we had to turn down multiple rides for seniors to hip surgeries, cataract surgeries, grocery shopping, adult day program respite services, long-term-care outings, and more. And unfortunately, there often is no affordable alternative for many people – who end up skipping their medical appointment, postponing surgery, or staying at home instead of heading to day program – leading to a large increase in stress for caregivers.
Increasing gas prices has also been a concern for many volunteer drivers. HCSS-Grey Bruce does reimburse mileage at 50 cents/km Musehl notes but understands vehicle ownership is expensive and goes beyond gas prices. An average vehicle uses about .13 to .19 cents a km on gas when prices are at $1.60. Any further increase would need to come directly from clients or donations, so our volunteer drivers understand it’s a tricky situation.
We are currently looking into starting our own volunteer vehicle fleet – hopefully electric – as well if people would like to volunteer but are hesitant to use their own vehicles.
If you are interested in helping a person from your community in providing transportation or want information on our other volunteer opportunities, please reach out to Holly at 519-372-2091 ext 2009 or email us at volunteer@hcssgreybruce.com.
