В Лейк-каунти запущена программа добровольных перевозок для пожилых и людей с ограниченными возможностями

CLEARLAKE— For some; elderly and/or disabled, Lake County at times can be a transportation desert, but that has turned around substantially since 2017 with the establishment of the Consolidated Transportation Services Agency, Lake Links. Lake Links is an umbrella entity that coordinates and facilitates a wide variety of transportation options for those who can no longer drive themselves due to advanced age (55 years or older) or physical incapacity. One of the principal services Lake Links, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit operates is Ride Links. Ride Links is a program where volunteer drivers, whose backgrounds have been vetted, drive people to essential appointments, including doctors but also to pharmacies, banks, supermarkets, food banks, hair salons, community events and clothing shops. Once a client is enrolled in the Ride Links program, the client will phone to make a reservation the week prior by 4 p.m. for the following week. Rides are nearly always fulfilled. Tami Bender, coordinator and marketing representative said, “Since I’ve been here, (one year) it was only once we could not arrange a ride, We do not have a fleet of vehicles- a lot of people think that,” said Bender. “But we have a roster of 10 volunteer drivers who commit to going out. I’m the one who facilitates the network.” The Lake Links includes several separate programs. The first of these is called Pay Your Pal. This program is where a client already knows their driver: a relative, friend, or a clergy member. In most cases, they have already been driving the client. The application for the process is fairly short and includes a telephone conversation, verifying legal driving status, current registration and adequate insurance. There is a cap on payouts for drivers, which is 300 miles per month, which works out to be approximately $120. Drivers will turn in their milage sheets within five business days at a month’s end. Compensation only incudes when the client is in the car with the driver. At Lake Links, they also facilitate applications for those qualifying for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to obtain ADA certificates. “We process applications through Lake County Transit,” Bender acknowledged. Other programs available from Lake County Transit include Medi-Links. Medi-Links is a non-emergency medical transportation service operated by Lake Links in partnership with Lake County Transit. Medi-Links has been developed as a shared rider service to provide non-emergency medical transportation throughout Lake County as well as out-of-county, such as to specialized medical providers in Santa Rosa. Dial-A-Ride is also available. It is a curb-to-curb paratransit service also operated under Lake County Transit. It is available in the Clearlake/Lower Lake and Lakeport areas. It operates during the same days and hours as local fixed bus routes, typically Monday through Saturday, from approximately 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and closed Sundays and major holidays. Flex-Stop is a regular bus noted Bender. “It will go right to your front door, so long as the bus can turn around and get back to its route, as well as if a client lives within one mile of a bus stop. But not everybody can use it, if there’s not enough room for the bus to turn around.” However, Flex-Stop patrons must complete an ADA application. They can get an application at the Lake Links office, 14420 Lakeshore Drive or phone: 707-995-3330. “I review an application and make sure it’s accurate,” Bender added. “I FAX it to their health provider and verify it is legal.” Lynda Rushing, a Lake Links regular lived most of her life in the East Bay, but for the prior 33 years she has resided in Lake County. She has been using Lake Links for the last four months, mainly for her primary care physician and chiropractic appointments. “Lake Links has been a blessing, they alleviate so much stress out of my life,” she said. “And now I am able to go to the grocery store again, because someone is always with you.” Pamela Lowe-Caradine works as a driver for Lake Links and has been assisting Rushing for the last four months. One of Lowe-Caradine’s outstanding attributes is that she is willing to drive around the entire route circling Clearlake. “I like to drive,” she said. “And I like to meet people I have never known before. I want to give back to the community and help other people.”