East Wellington Community Services is now offering transportation to low-income Erin and Guelph-Eramosa residents aged 18 to 64 so they can attend medical or social service appointments.
Barb Carscadden, manager of the transportation program at EWCS, said there was a service gap for this group of people.
“We realized that there are many individuals in this area who don’t fall under that category whatsoever, and they have no means of transportation here,” she said.
The new transportation program launched on March 1 thanks to $75,000 in funding from Wellington County.
It will allow eligible residents to attend medical and social service appointments, such as employment counselling, legal or educational appointments.
To access the service, residents can call EWCS and book transportation at least two business days before the appointment.
The cost is completely covered by the funding. EWCS has 15 volunteer drivers and one paid staff member.
Having transportation for low-income residents is important to the community, said Carscadden.
“There’s no form of transportation here, so a lot of times, if you are of low income you may not have a vehicle, or you may not even be able to afford the gas to go somewhere, so we need to offer people like that an alternative solution, or they are basically stuck,” she said.
“It’s basically an effort to get (low-income residents) back on their feet and get out of their low-income situation.”
Call to book
For more information, call EWCS at 519-856-2113.
EWCS also offers user-pay transportation for those 65 and older to attend medical or therapeutic appointments.
