The West Coast is losing its Wheels for Wellness service.
B次元官网网址淭he reason is that financially itB次元官网网址檚 just a disaster. We get maybe $400 a year in donations,B次元官网网址� executive director Don Buchner told the Westerly B次元官网网址. B次元官网网址淚t doesnB次元官网网址檛 have to make money, but it should break even. The West Coast never came close.B次元官网网址�
Buchner launched the program in 1997 and brought it to the Tofino-Ucluelet region in 2016. The service provides residents in rural communities transportation to medical appointments across the Island on a by-donation basis.
B次元官网网址淔or those residents who have been relying on Wheels for Wellness to get to needed medical appointments, itB次元官网网址檚 going to be devastating,B次元官网网址� Tofino mayor Dan Law told the Westerly B次元官网网址. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a difficult loss and I hope there are some options to find funding to keep it goingB次元官网网址tB次元官网网址檚 been a great service for those that have used it.B次元官网网址�
Buchner said some Wheels for Wellness routes receive funding from Island Health, but the West Coast route never did, adding other communities like Tahsis and Gold River also do not receive funding.
The West Coast tallied 56 Wheels for Wellness passengers in 2022 and Buchner suggested Port HardyB次元官网网址檚 van runs daily with a full load and Gold RiverB次元官网网址檚 van runs three days a week with a B次元官网网址渕inimum of two people on board.B次元官网网址�
He added it is very rare for the service to pull out of a community, with Port Alice being the only other route he could recall being nixed.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 really sorry that it had to go this way. IB次元官网网址檓 genuinely sorry that we had to pull out of there. I really didnB次元官网网址檛 want to , but I have to look at the bottom line and thatB次元官网网址檚 really what it is,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚 hate it. I committed to it myself. To have it fail is horrible. I felt like crap, but I also have to look after the rest of the society.B次元官网网址�
He added that the West CoastB次元官网网址檚 remoteness added to the low ridership as most trips could not be done in one day.
B次元官网网址淢ost often what was happening was a person would go out with us and then come back the next day, so we had to make two trips for that one person,B次元官网网址� he said.
He explained the West Coast can keep the Wheels for Wellness van and launch its own, locally-run service, but a nonprofit organization would need to administer it and cover the costs.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 dollars involved, lots of them, but the vehicle would be free,B次元官网网址� he said.
He added if the West Coast organized the van it could add routes between Tofino and Ucluelet, which was not available with Wheels for Wellness as it did not meet the 60-kilometre threshold.
Ucluelet mayor Marilyn McEwen said she was disappointed to see Wheels for Wellness leave the community, but local officials are hoping to roll out a new service for those needing to get to medical appointments.
B次元官网网址淲heels are in motion to try and figure this out and how best to manage it,B次元官网网址� she said.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a huge lossB次元官网网址hereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of people that donB次元官网网址檛 have vehicles or donB次元官网网址檛 drive and need to get to appointments across the Island.B次元官网网址�
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