Volunteers offer stranded seniors some independence
Possessing and driving a motor vehicle endows personal independence and connection to community. That’s why the loss of an older adult’s driving privilege is life-changing. A local nonprofit agency is a lifeline, restoring some mobility to stranded seniors.
Overland Park-based Jewish Family Services of Greater Kansas (JFS) offers on-demand, door-to-door rides to ambulatory adults 60 and over, including those with limited vision or hearing or who use a cane or walker. Since 2008, the nonsectarian social agency has provided 26,634 rides to the grocery store, hairdresser’s, social activities, doctor’s appointments and more. The goal is “helping older adults remain active and independent.”
About 90 volunteer drivers for JFS provide “safe and reliable” transportation all week. Rides are available 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. There’s a round-trip limit of 30 miles from riders’ homes to their destination. The limit doesn’t apply to doctor appointments.
The program serves most of Johnson County in Kansas and southern Jackson County in Missouri, north to Midtown and east to Highway 71. There are two plans: JET Express and JET Express Plus. JET Express rides must be scheduled five business days in advance and are $5 each way. Riders are transported by JFS volunteer drivers in the volunteers’ own vehicles.
JET Express Plus rides can be scheduled the same day and cost $15 each way. Riders are transported by JFS employees in a JFS-owned minivan. Weekend rides depend on staff driver availability.
Both JET Express and JET Express Plus rides are paid for in advance from riders’ transportation accounts, set up when they enroll in the program. Account deposits can be made with checks or credit cards.
“There must be money in the account in order to use the service,” says Ruth Bigus a spokesperson for JFS. “No money is exchanged between rider and driver, and tips are not accepted.”
There’s financial assistance to help pay for rides for seniors with income at or below 150 percent of the national poverty level ($18,090 per year for a single person).
JFS policies are not English-only or limited to U.S. Citizens. The agency serves clients of all nationalities, origins and religions. Not all of more than 200 JET Express riders speak English.
“We have a Spanish-speaking care manager who is in and out of the office,” Bigus says.
Persons interested in JET Express (www.jfskc.org/jet-express/) for themselves or someone else can phone Sondra Atherly at 913-981-8877.
JET Express is one of a comprehensive array of older adult services, which is one of several all-inclusive areas of JFS service. The agency is “committed to strengthening lives” throughout the metro area through career services; refugee and immigrant assistance; counseling and mental health services; family life education and social services; food pantry and shelter assistance; chaplaincy; legal referrals; and volunteer opportunities.
JFS relies on “several hundred” volunteers and financial and other donations. Besides transporting older adults, there’s a considerable range of volunteer opportunities, including visiting shut-ins, participating in holiday projects, providing minor home repairs for seniors, stocking the food pantry and much more.
Volunteers go through background checks, and JET Express drivers must pass a motor vehicle check and training session. For more information, phone Vicki Johansen at 913-327-8279 or go to www.jfskc.org/services/volunteer/.
Through Dec. 31, a local philanthropist will match fundraising donations up to $15,000 for the JFS annual Friends Campaign, which benefits the agency’s community support programs. Donors can also earmark contributions to a specific JFS program. For more information, go to www.jfskc.org/.
