Transportation Services
The transportation service is intended to help consumers who are residing in the Leeds and Grenville community attend psychiatric and psychological appointments, medical, counseling or therapy appointments. The services is delivered with the assistance of volunteer drivers, many of whom are consumers themselves. The service’s objective is to support community integration and improve quality of life for consumers.
Persons requiring transportation contact the office directly, where they are screened for applicability to the service. Persons requesting service are expected to have exhausted other avenues of available transportation including public transit, family members, friends or others. There are no fees charged for the service, although participants are told that donations towards gas costs are accepted.
Volunteer Drivers
Clients requiring transportation contact CMHA directly or through their case worker/therapist. Necessary information is gathered and used to pair the client with the appropriate volunteer driver. Decisions are based on geography, clinical requirements and scheduling allowance. Lack of volunteer drivers in some of the rural areas has impeded our ability to provide enough service. This is particularly true in Kemptville and Gananoque. Where possible, we would encourage the selection of consumers as volunteer drivers. Drivers are reimbursed for their efforts in the form of a mileage allowance (0.40/km).
Volunteer drivers are used to assist persons to attend psychiatric or psychological appointments, counseling and therapy, medical appointments or related appointments. The service is designed to assist persons until they have developed a natural support network, or are accustomed to using public transit where available. Clients may also be referred when natural supports are temporarily unavailable, or circumstances mitigate.
Volunteer Recruitment: Volunteers are particularly needed in rural areas such as Kemptville, Prescott, Gananoque and Delta. A Volunteer Application package is available to anyone interested in becoming a volunteer driver, included in this package: Standard Information sheet, CMHA Driver Rules, Weather Conditions Policy, Statement of Liability, Statement of Confidentiality, Criminal Reference Release Form and a Driver’s Abstract Release Form. All potential volunteer drivers are interviewed, reference checks are completed and program orientation is provided.
Leased Van
CMHA Leeds Grenville was able to arrange for the lease of a seven - passenger van through strategic reinvestment dollars. The Branch employs part time drivers, and the vehicle is available five days a week in seven - hour shifts. Van use is directed through the Transportation Services Committee, allowing rural satellite offices the opportunity to utilize a vehicle and driver to assist in improving access to programs. The van is utilized principally to support client controlled programming. Staff in rural offices (Leeds and Grenville Rehabilitation and Counseling, ACTT, Elmgrove) may access the van and driver to support programs they are offering, which assists in facilitating program attendance. A van schedule has been developed through the Committee, and includes satellite offices a minimum of two days per month, current examples of van use include trips for social/recreational activities with partner agency staff, transportation to area food banks, transportation to support programs and other related events.
Subsidized Bus Pass
Two types of bus passes available; regular city transit passes and para transit passes. Either of these are to be utilized as a means to foster community reintegration, enhance rehabilitation and provide access to consumers to necessary services. This program has been developed with the help of the Steering Committee. An application process has been developed and approved by the committee. This application has been designed with the intent that the client has a goal plan in place, to ensure that the client will at some point reach a point where they have reached self-dependency.
Clients partnered with their case worker/therapist are to complete the application and then forward it to their Steering Committee representative to bring to the next committee meeting for a decision. Collectively the committee will review all the submitted applications and then decide which of the applicants will be approved. Decisions are to be based on necessity, reasonable level of need, medical/health status and proximity to service.