Humboldt County Commissioners will write a letter of support to accompany a Veteran's Admininstration grant application which will help fund a trip to the Reno VA hospital two Wednesdays a month.
Pleasant Senior Center Director Patricia Tyndall talked with the commissioners about the VA grant, which is available to very rural populations to assist veterans to get to a medical center. The grant is being written by the VA in Reno, Tyndall explained, as the senior center is not a Veteran's Service Organization. The Senior Center will be the sub-grantee.
While some grants need to run through the county, this particular VA grant does not, but the other grant funding the senior center has received for a local transportation program does run through the county, so Tyndall wanted the commissioners to be aware of the new grant opportunity.
The VA grant funding will make it possible to have the senior center's handicapped accessible bus to take veterans from Winnemucca and stop in Lovelock and pick up any veterans who need to make the trip to the VA hospital in Reno two Wednesdays a month.
"We're working with the VA hospital to set up Winnemucca Wednesday so they will save those dates so those who travel to Reno on the bus will be able to make their appointments on that day," said Tyndall.
"We want to fill up that bus because it's not cost effective to take one person," she added. The first priority would be the veterans and any caregivers; if there's still room on the bus, seniors who might need or want to go into Reno could ride, and after October, when the transit program is opened to the general public, if there's still room on the bus, it would be open seating for anyone who needed or wanted to go to Reno. Tyndall said a fare of $8 for the bus ride has been considered for the general public. Veterans would ride free of charge, as would seniors, as there is grant support for those riders.
While the Disabled American Veterans van goes into Reno on Tuesdays and Thursdays when they have need, that van is not handicapped accessible, and they take only veterans.
Tyndall said that leaves a niche for needed service that the new program could fill.
"This would service disabled veterans who need a handicapped accessible vehicle as well as opening up the Reno trip to seniors and others.
The grant is through the VA for $50,000 a year to help defray running costs. "We want to add this to the suite of transportation services we offer," said Tyndall.
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