3-13-09

Walpole Weighs Red Cross Ride Service

By Chuck Bingaman, Contributing Writer

            Walpole voters will decide whether the town will participate in the Red Cross Rural Ride Program providing rides to doctor visits, hospitals, grocery stores and other needed destinations for those unable to drive as part of Saturday’s annual meeting beginning at 1:00 p.m. in Walpole School.

            Placed on the warrant by a petition effort led by Tara Sad, the article asks whether Walpole voters wish to commit to raising $2550 as the town’s portion of the plan to set up and operate the program for the next 12 months.

            The town selectmen, hoping to avoid additional town expenses, have said that, if it were up to them, they would vote against the program. 

            “We know there’s a clear need for this program based on responses made last year to the town survey of emergency needs,” according to Sad who also serves as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from Cheshire District 2 that includes Walpole.

            “This service,” she added, “makes it possible for elderly or handicapped people to stay in their homes—and out of nursing homes—which, in turn, saves the town money.”

            The Red Cross Rural Ride program operates a central dispatch service based in Keene that coordinates the offering of volunteer drivers from Walpole who make themselves available to transport those needing rides to medical appointments or other destinations.  Such volunteers list when and how frequently they might be available, and the dispatching service matches requests for rides with the volunteers’ availabilities.

            “If the warrant articles passes Saturday, we would be looking for 15 to 18 volunteers who would be willing to give occasional rides to people that need them,” noted Sad yesterday.  “Such a program spreads the work around. And we suspect that people will be much more comfortable asking for a ride from a pre-screened volunteer through the Red Cross dispatcher than asking a neighbor or friend directly for a ride.”

            In addition to the coordination, the Red Cross offers an 800 toll-free phone number to request rides, and it supplies and pays for liability insurance to save volunteers and riders from any liability should accidents occur.  In addition, it carries out required criminal and safe driving background checks before volunteers are accepted into the program. 

            “Shared rides for shut-ins and others that cannot provide their own transportation have been planned before in Walpole,” Sad explained, “but they have always fallen through because of the cost or availability of insurance and the complications in matching peoples’ ride needs with volunteers on an effective basis.”

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