Donation funds second shuttle van for veterans

Montgomery County veterans will see increased transportation options thanks to a donation that will add a second shuttle to area VA medical centers.

The $25,000 donation from the Montgomery County Foundation and the Philmont Country Club is helping the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services purchase the van that will allow the county to expand service to shuttle veterans to the Philadelphia VA Medical Center and Horsham Community-Based Outpatient Clinic.

“We’ve been using one vehicle to provide rides for all of Montgomery County. For that reason we had to focus on the Coatesville and Spring City VA Centers only because they had less public transportation to them,” said Sean Halbom, director of Veterans Affairs for the county. “However, we did receive a great amount of interest fromveterans in the southern Montgomery County area about access to the Horsham and Philadelphia medical VA centers.”

The second vanwill build onto the shuttle service that began in July 2015, funded by grants fromthe Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and Human Services. Since the beginning of 2016, the shuttle provided 332 total fares to and from VA medical facilities.

“The federal government provides enough resources but a lot of people were having trouble connecting to them. So we became the bridge to help folks understand what was available to them, but they still needed a lift. They still needed a ride,” said Commissioner Josh Shapiro.

Through rider surveys the county gathered demographic information on the riders. Most of the veterans using the shuttle are from the Vietnam War era and before, aged 60 and up. According to the survey, 92 percent of passengers said that they were more likely to visit medical services because of the shuttle.

With a second shuttle, Halbom said, veterans can now gain transportation to services centered at the Philadelphia VA center.

“This has a great added value. Most veterans who apply for service-connected disabilities with the VA are required to attend an exam with a VA doctor to asses that disability,” Halbom explained. “Those are primarily held in Philadelphia, so now that we have this shuttle, we’re able to offer a fully encompassing service in our office, from start and representation through the disability process to transportation to those appointments and then follow up afterwards.”

TheMontgomery County Foundation and members of Philmost County Club gathered together to raise the funds to purchase the van. Virginia Frantz, who spoke on behalf of the Montgomery County Foundation, said that the donation was only one of many efforts the group takes on to support veterans.

“One of the most beautiful things about this is that this is a group of about 200 individuals who contributed to make this $25,000 donation to purchase the van,” Frantz said. “I am just proud to know those who are behind raising the money.”