Car donation gives ‘feeling of belonging’
Grampians Community Health has a new transport option for people with complex mobility needs after a combined community donation.
Grampians Toy Club and several other community groups and businesses combined to purchase a Toyota Spade for the health service.
The Spade is a stylish, fully imported factory purpose-built vehicle designed for people with mobility and wheelchair needs.
It features an electric sliding lefthand door, high roofline and low flat floor.
It also has a front passenger seat that is a ‘Toyota’ wheelchair, meaning people can enter and alight the vehicle from the passenger side while remaining seated.
Grampians Community Health chief executive Greg Little said he was thrilled when Grampians Toy Club’s Jamie Erwin offered to help purchase the vehicle.
“Grampians Community Health provides vehicles for use in our older persons groups and NDIS programs, as well as a community car for non-emergency patient transport,” he said. “To have a vehicle specifically manufactured to transport people in a wheelchair in the fleet will provide an even better service for people in our community and their carers.”
Mr Erwin said he had the idea of purchasing a Toyota Spade after seeing a need for people with wheelchairs or limited mobility to travel with dignity in cars. Club members agreed to support the purchase.
“Often people end up in a wheelchair through illness, accident or frailty and due to this situation, they lose some of the things we take for granted, such as how we get around in cars,” Mr Erwin said.
“The Spade allows them to sit up front, next to the driver for good social interaction, good visibility, dignity and a feeling of belonging rather than feeling relegated to the back of a van.”
Mr Little said the vehicle could not have been purchased without the generosity of several community groups.
“They genuinely wanted to provide something in our community that could change someone’s life,” he said.
The Spade will be available for community use through the Grampians Community Health ‘Community Car’ program.
People can call 5358 7400 to access any of Grampians Community Health’s services.