in york county,
ride programs share the road
by Chelsea Chapman

When a volunteer ride program in York County hits a bump, it does not have to figure things out alone.

Age Friendly Saco kept getting calls from people in nearby towns who needed rides, and it had to turn them away. So in 2023, when Age Friendly Biddeford and Old Orchard Beach Community Friendly Connection set out to start their own volunteer driver programs, Saco offered to help. It applied for a grant from the Huntington Commons Fund to support both groups. Saco gave each the same start-up help: a laptop, a cell phone, driver background checks, and orientation materials. Old Orchard Beach used part of its funds for gas cards to repay drivers for mileage. Saco also passed along an extra van, which now takes Biddeford residents on weekly grocery trips. 

“Saying no to ride requests from other communities was hard,” said Linda Verville, Volunteer Rides Coordinator, Age Friendly Saco. “Helping Biddeford and Old Orchard Beach get started meant their residents finally had somewhere to call. It helped us too. We could focus on our own riders and volunteers, and we knew rides in the area would be covered.”

Now Biddeford, with help from Saco too, is paying it forward. It is doing for two newer programs, Aging in Buxton and a program getting ready to launch in Lyman, what Saco did for it. Biddeford shares its forms, policies, and procedures, along with tips for recruiting drivers, scheduling rides, and getting the word out in the community.

“Lyman is a rural town with many older residents, and there is no medical care close by,” said Joseph Wagner, Chair, Age-Friendly Lyman. “We asked Age Friendly Biddeford and Age Friendly Saco for help, since both already run volunteer driver programs. Their advice made a big difference. The town was worried about liability, so we set up Community Rides as its own non-profit organization, separate from the town. Then we applied for a DRIVE-ME grant and got it. Now we are buying supplies and signing up drivers and riders. We hope to start giving rides by the new year.” 

That teamwork showed again when Heart to Heart, a regional ride program serving the York and Berwick area, closed. Many of its volunteer drivers wanted to keep going. Biddeford, Saco, and other local ride programs helped the York Community Service Association start YCSA RIDE, which brought many of those volunteers on board. YCSA RIDE opened on October 1 and offers rides to York residents age 60 and older. To request a ride, call 207-902-8869.

If your community is thinking about starting a volunteer ride program, Lifelong Maine can help. Contact Chelsea Chapman at lifelong@maine.edu.