Transportation for Seniors

Transcript of Interview: “Transportation for Seniors”

Kim Barnes:

There comes a time when our parents may not feel comfortable driving, or possibly come a time when we don’t feel comfortable with our parents driving. But then it becomes a real challenge sometimes to get them where they need to go. 

Mike Barnes:

You know, when we have little kids, you have lots of carpool options. You don’t really have that when you’re trying to help your parents and take care of parents and seniors, elderly, etc. You just got to figure out a way to get them different places, whether it’s run errands, go to the doctor’s office, different things, right? And that’s where you need a little bit of help. Luckily, different places around different cities across the country have help like that. We’re in Austin, Texas, and luckily Austin, Texas has a program called Drive a Senior. Kit Chenault is a retired doctor here in Austin, Texas, and he’s involved with Drive a Senior. Kit, we appreciate you joining us today.

Kit Chenault:

Well, thank you for having me.

Mike Barnes:

Tell us about Drive a Senior. I know you know a lot about the history and how it all started here in Austin.

Kit Chenault:

Yeah, it started in 1985. There was a graduate student who was interested in elderly issues, and she got a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. They started a program called Austin Caregivers, West Austin Caregivers, and that blossomed over a period of years. Primarily, we provided transportation to the elderly—free transportation through volunteers—but we provide other services to try to keep them in their homes. Our initial goal was to enhance the quality of life of the clients, to maximize their ability to meet their own needs and those of others, and to continue living independently—in other words, living at home, which is where most people are happy. It is very difficult to live at home if you don’t have transportation.

Kim Barnes:

For sure. Once you aren’t driving anymore, whether you can’t or shouldn’t or just choose not to, it does get tricky if you’re going to the grocery store or trying to do some of the things that you want to be able to do. Share a little bit about the kinds of help that people can get through Drive a Senior specifically. Obviously, every city may have something similar, so you need to research that in your own city. But specifically with Drive a Senior, who can really get transportation, and what kinds of places can they go?

Kit Chenault:

We primarily serve seniors who are 60 years of age or older and who do not drive themselves. It’s quite a mixed bag. There are people who have family in town, people who have kids in town, and people who have nobody in town. The needs are rather variable. We sign them up, and we do not move clients who require a wheelchair, but we use a lot of walkers and that sort of thing. Eighty-five percent of our work is driving. We have a list of volunteers, and they can go on our website and pick up a client. They might say, “I’ve got Thursday morning available, and I’ll just drive Mrs. Smith to the store, or on Friday to the hairdresser, or to the doctor.” Our primary thing is, of course, to the doctor’s office or medical-related appointments, but we also go to the grocery store, hairdresser, run errands, and go to the bank.

In addition to the driving services, we have a lot of information about senior services. The city has services, and there are other organizations like Meals on Wheels. We provide social contacts for them because we call and check on them. During the pandemic, we’ve made somewhere in the range of 250 contacts a month to call them and see what they’re doing and just check on them. Senior isolation is a big problem if you don’t drive and go to the neighbors. So, we call and check on them and make sure they have food. We even opened a temporary food bank during the pandemic. Now, we have formal relationships with food banks and drive the food to the seniors. The food bank fixes a packet, and I pick it up and take it to a senior. These are items we learned the seniors would use rather than just a bunch of stuff they might not want.

Kim Barnes:

My daughter and I actually volunteered and drove many seniors. We enjoyed getting to visit with them. A lot of them were people who had adult children in Austin but were working full-time or didn’t have the ability to take their parents to appointments regularly. We had one couple we took to the gym so they could exercise pre-pandemic. We had another woman who had to go to dialysis regularly. There were different needs, and it’s difficult to take off work every time they need a ride. Using a driver service like Lyft can get expensive, and it may not always be a safe option. Drive a Senior serves a great purpose, especially for those who don’t have kids or family in town. It can be really hard without that support.

Kit Chenault:

This program is wonderful for the seniors, but it’s also a two-way street. It’s a wonderful program for the volunteers. We have a lot of Junior League members, many of whom are young mothers who take their kids along. They get to interact with the elderly person they’re picking up, and the kids see from an early age that they can be helpful. Many people may have family in town, but it just doesn’t work for them. We provide up to two medical visits a week, and sometimes we extend that, but generally, that’s our capacity with the number of volunteers we have.

Mike Barnes:

For those who aren’t in Austin, many people in our Facebook group are not from Austin. People are trying to figure out who to reach out to in their city. We’re going to put a list in the description of different cities around the country. But if you’re not sure and you’re trying to contact different people and organizations in your city, what should we be asking? What should the kids be asking about when looking for transportation for their parents?

Kit Chenault:

The first problem is when do they stop driving? That’s a whole topic in and of itself. As an orthopedic surgeon, I dealt with people with fractured hips who couldn’t drive, so I had to discuss that with them. Taking the license away from an individual is like cutting off their left arm. It’s tough. Most cities have a resource for various senior facilities. They have recreational facilities, meal programs, transportation programs, and they are generally aware of services in the community. The first place to go is the city where you live. You can go online and look up senior transportation or senior services.

We are an all-volunteer, faith-based organization. We initially started with five congregations supporting us, and now we have 17, including two Jewish synagogues. We want to expand our access and volunteers. Our organization started as West Austin, serving the central and west side of Austin. We have recently joined up with another organization. In our 35 years, we have spawned eight other organizations: Northwest Austin, Northeast Austin, North Central, Round Rock, Pflugerville, and Elgin. These areas now have Drive a Senior organizations with different names but the same program and software.

Kim Barnes:

For a lot of people, it’s good to know that there are services out there and options available. This conversation helps people know where to start asking to find them.

Kit Chenault:

It’s important, especially in Austin, which has one of the fastest-growing senior communities in the country. We find a lot of problems we weren’t aware of in the past. We provide information about senior services, errands, and even rake lawns, change light bulbs, and other little things to keep them in their homes safely. We visit them, and when we pick up individuals, we peer into the house to check for things like throw rugs that need to be picked up and how the patient is doing. We provide a social service and help be the eyes and ears for the family.

Kim Barnes:

Thank you so much, Kit. We appreciate all that you do and your expertise.

Mike Barnes:

It’s good to have something like Drive a Senior. Wherever you live across the country, there are organizations out there. It’s just a matter of finding them and helping them help you.

Kim Barnes:

Absolutely. I hope this conversation helps people know what questions to ask and what to search for. If you have the opportunity or ability to volunteer, many of these organizations run by volunteers. My daughter and I drove for Drive a Senior as part of the National Charity League, and it was good for her to be exposed to that and for me to help. It’s a great way to volunteer without committing a whole day. You can commit 30 or 45 minutes to drop them off or pick them up. These organizations benefit from volunteers, especially if your parents aren’t in the same city. You can help parents in your city, and someone in the city where they live can help them.

Mike Barnes:

 It’s a great topic to talk about. If you have a topic that we haven’t hit on yet or want us to talk more about, let us know. We’ll find an expert, do an interview, and get the ball rolling just for you.

*This transcript is auto-generated. Please excuse any typos or mistakes.