(Seguin) — Supporting local military veterans may be as easy as sliding into the driver’s seat of a veterans service van.
Veterans in Seguin and Guadalupe County need a few good drivers to get them the care and support they deserve.
The Guadalupe County Veterans Service Office desperately needs volunteer drivers for its transportation program.
Veterans Service Officer Nancy Russell says the program is vital to ensuring veterans get to those very important medical appointments in San Antonio.
“There’s a real need in our local area in Seguin to help veterans attend their VA Medical appointments and these are in San Antonio and a lot of veterans are unable to drive and their family members work and it’s really difficult for them to get the medical treatment they need and so what this program is about is we connect the veterans with the drivers and there is a VA van that is available. There is no cost to the volunteer. It’s really just their time and it’s very much needed and very much appreciated,” said Russell.
Russell says the program welcomes anyone who can take just a little bit of time out of their schedule to assist these veterans. She says whether it’s a day per week or a couple of times a month, the program welcomes anyone willing to give.
“Everything is supplied. They do have to jump through a couple of hoops in the beginning with the VA. There’s a physical. There’s a background check — things like that for safety reasons and a couple of trips are needed to go to Audie Murphy just to be approved to become a volunteer but you can also ride our van just to do that so that it saves a trip for the volunteers and it also gives them a chance to see what the ride is all about. They can ride along with our current volunteer drivers and the veterans and it gives them a really good idea of what it is exactly. It’s a process that takes a month or two just to get approved. But then after that, even if they give us only a couple of days a month, that is a huge help for us. They can tell us they want to do it once a month, twice a week whatever they want to do,” said Russell.
Russell says the program is down to its last two drivers. She says due to the lack of volunteers, veterans are being forced to cancel VA appointments and delay the healthcare they deserve.
“So a lot of these veterans, we have some that truly have no way to get to their appointments. They have all kinds of physical limitations or mental and without this service, it’s a huge problem for them. Sometimes, it’s for just keeping their disability status that enables them to live and pay bills because a lot of them are unable to work. There is a huge need. Some of the veterans are okay driving in Seguin but they just simply can not drive into San Antonio especially to the other side of San Antonio and so, it’s a huge need and it just takes just a few hours a month really or whatever the volunteer wants to donate in terms of their time,” said Russell.
Russell says although the veterans are appreciative of the volunteers, it’s the volunteers who end up with the most rewarding experience.
“It’s actually very rewarding. Our volunteers are very dedicated and they enjoy doing it. Once you meet the veterans, you realize this is just an important need and it gives you a real sense of fulfillment in giving back to the community especially the veterans and we recently had one volunteer who broke his ankle so we are very much in need. We only have a couple of volunteers right now so a lot of times they have to cancel their appointments because they sometimes have no way to get there,” said Russell.
Russell says sign-up is relatively easy. She says to volunteer, folks must be 21 years of age and have a good driving record.
“All the coordinating is done through the veterans services county office and sometimes it’s one veteran. We never really have say more than four people going at one time and it’s usually in the morning. The farthest away is Audie Murphy which is on the other side of San Antonio but there’s plenty of time to get over there. It’s not rushed or anything like that. There are other locations maybe six locations throughout San Antonio. Sometimes it’s Schertz. Sometimes it’s half way between there and Audie Murphy,” said Russell.
Those interested in volunteering as a driver are asked to contact the county veterans service office at 830-303-8870 Ext. 1249.