Vancouver transportation organization provides services to north Clark County and gains new vehicle

Sebastian Rubino / sebastian@thereflector.com

Community in Motion acquired a new minivan to provide transportation to senior citizens and people with disabilities.

The organization now has two minivans and a minibus.

Founded in 1957 under the name Human Services Council, Executive Director Jeananne Edwards said Community in Motion is excited about the transportation opportunities the new vehicle provides.

“We have two minivans that we were able to get through C-Tran for the volunteer driver program, and we have an accessible vehicle as well, which is a minibus with a lift on it so we can take people to appointments, as long as we have volunteers to do it,” said Edwards. “We also allow other nonprofits in the area to use the van for different purposes.”

Because of the pandemic, she said there haven’t been many group trips that would require their bus. Edwards said most of their transportation is brokered through other transportation services and volunteers who drive their own vehicles, while the two minivans and the minibus belong to Community in Motion.

The volunteers who use their own vehicles can get their miles reimbursed. Edwards said they currently have around 15 volunteers and could always use more. The volunteers take senior citizens and people with disabilities on an estimated 150 trips per month, she said. If the group had more volunteers, she believes they could double the amount of trips.

The nonprofit helps people get to their jobs and provides non-emergency transportation services for people on Medicaid. They also help people who need transportation to doctor’s appointments, Edwards said.

She said the program has been popular for the population they serve.

“(The program’s) incredibly successful,” Edwards said. “We try really hard to partner with anybody in the area to help solve transportation needs and we’re known for that. We have some great vendors like Healthcare Authority, as well as (the Washington State Department of Transportation) and C-Tran, who we have numerous programs through. There’s a definite need out there for it.”

She said Community in Motion also works with Battle Ground HealthCare, the Senior Services Network, and United Health.

About six months ago, Community in Motion unveiled its new North County shuttle program, which focuses on people in north Clark County in areas like Yacolt, Ridgefield and Amboy. The shuttle program also provides different routes to get senior citizens into Battle Ground so they can go shopping, attend medical appointments, or for other necessary trips.

The organization lost about half its drivers when the pandemic started, according to Edwards.

“A lot of our drivers and seniors needed to take care of themselves and we understand that,” she said. “We’ve also had some new people and others who continued with us. With non-emergency transportation, we’re at about 70% of where we used to be in the number of trips. With volunteers, we’re at about 85% of where we were.”

She noted the organization is not able to take seniors on social rides to the movie theater or hairdresser as often.

Services are free of charge. To contact Community in Motion or to obtain transportation services, go online to commu nityinmotion.org/contact. The office is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.