When you need to mail a package, stop for groceries, attend meetings or visit your doctor or veterinarian, you just hop in the car and go, right?
For many who have had to give up driving, this loss of option and independence can be the first step toward isolation and loss of quality of life as they know it. This is where a nonprofit organization called People Who Care and its volunteers can step in and make a difference.
Established in 1992, PWC helps adults who are unable to drive to continue to live independently by offering transportation and support services, all free to recipients, or Neighbors, as Executive Director Jane Harrison describes clients.
“’Neighbor’ is more intimate than ‘client.’ We are here to help the community, our neighbors,” Harrison said. Currently 265 PWC volunteers provide services like door-through-door transportation — from home to the appointment, where they wait to drive the Neighbor back home. They provide home safety assessments such as lighting needs, fire extinguishers and grab bars, minor home safety repairs, assistance with technology, personal paperwork, and friendly visits and phone calls.
Retired nurses and social workers conduct the home visits to assess the living situation and make sure that Neighbors can ambulate and transfer in and out of vehicles. People using wheelchairs who can get themselves in and out of a vehicle without assistance can arrange for a wheelchair at the destination.
Two years ago PWC began offering one-on-one low-vision appointments in its Plaza West Drive office. Ted Thompson (95) recently had his first appointment with Tom Perski, a volunteer with 40 years of experience with eye conditions.
Thompson said he’s learned a tremendous amount about macular degeneration since his own diagnosis several years ago. He was convinced to cease driving at age 92, an experience he described as traumatic. “I hope I have adjusted to it,” he said, adding that he now has difficulty reading text that glasses cannot remediate. Once a month he shops in bulk thanks to New Horizons Disability Empowerment Center, another nonprofit that provides transportation, job training and advocacy to people with disabilities. His insurance company offers transportation once a month or so for medical appointments; PWC has also offered transportation.
“I would want to give (PWC) the highest recommendation for the experience I had with them. I was really enlightened by Tom in terms of eyes and the conditions that occur with the eye. He explained why I’m unable to wear glasses that will help. So there are other possibilities that he explained and demonstrated. Ultimately we decided on one in particular that will give me capabilities beyond what I have. I was terribly impressed with PWC and Tom in particular for his infinite knowledge about the eye. I am pleased with what we arrived at.”
While most people the group serves live in Prescott, PWC also helps residents of Prescott Valley, Chino Valley and Dewey-Humboldt. “We have about 36 people in Chino Valley who rely on us, but only ten or eleven volunteers. So the need for volunteers continues to be the biggest challenge,” Harrison said. “We have some Williamson Valley volunteers who offer their service to Chino Valley residents as needed. You figure Chino Valley doesn’t have a lot of medical services. If you need imaging or a colonoscopy, everyone has to go to Prescott or Prescott Valley. That’s where we run into a problem. Maybe only two of the ten or eleven volunteers will drive to Prescott.”
Five years ago, reaching semi-retirement, Laura Crimmins became aware of PWC. She thought, “Maybe I’ll give this a go.”
“The day I started, the conversations with the Neighbors we help who talked about how important the support and services offered just really hooked me,” Crimmins said. “They wouldn’t be able to be in the comfort of home with their pets and familiar belongings without these services.”
One of the beautiful things about volunteering, she continued, is the flexibility it offers. There are no minimum hours, no set schedules, no guilt in saying, “No, I can’t do that.” For instance, due to a broken hand, she couldn’t answer phones, write or drive for several months. She marked “unavailable” on the PWC calendar, just like when she goes out of town for a few weeks. “It’s so flexible, that makes volunteering doable.”
A grant from the Arizona Department of Transportation allows PWC to reimburse drivers 70 cents per mile. Grants and donations help support the nonprofit, although the number of grant applicants has grown while the grant funds have shrunk, Harrison said. “We try to make ourselves known to the public. After 33 years, some people have no clue who we are.”
PWC offers volunteer orientations on the third Wednesday of each month from 1:30 to 3:30pm (with snacks) at the PWC office, 1580 Plaza West Drive, Prescott. Call 928-445-2480 to register for the March 19 session. Volunteers can also apply online at PeopleWhoCareAz.com.
“A real positive experience is the number of volunteers who are providing services and transportation who report back how much they enjoy it,” Crimmons said. “It’s reassuring of humanity at times.”
