Tiaho Trust sets up service Innovative Transport Service
Tiaho Trust has established a Voluntary Transport Support Service in Kaikohe in response to a lack of accessible transport in the mid-North.
Published June 09th 2008
Disabled people were not able to fully participate in activities in their communities and a number of disabled school children were unable to attend school because there was no accessible transport.
With the support of the ASB Community Trust, who provided funding to Tiaho to purchase an accessible van, the ‘Voluntary Transport Support Service’ was established.
This is a self-funding service. The Ministry of Health provide funding for disabled children who need accessible transport to use taxies to get to and from school, however there was no accessible taxi service in Kaikohe.
By leasing the Tiaho accessible van to the Kaikohe Shuttle Service it enables disabled children to go to school and provides funding for the Voluntary Transport Support Service for disabled people in Kaikohe.
Tracey Clausen has taken up the volunteer position of ‘Volunteer Support Co-ordinator’. She says that “being part of this initiative has given me the opportunity to support our disabled community in the mid-North area, Empowering our Community”.
Disabled people are encouraged to utilise the service between the hours of 9.30am and 2pm to enable them to participate in and contribute to their communities.
This service now has six volunteer drivers and five volunteer support workers which is great as the service is being utilised extensively by the disabled community.
March was a very busy month with over 30 people utilising the service to attend doctors and specialists appointments, go shopping, attend Wananga and the Kaikohe East School use the van once a week to take children with special needs to Riding for the Disabled in Waipapa.