Call Volume Soars for JCCGCI’s Senior Citizen Transportation Program as it Celebrates 40 Years of Service to the Community

Responding to a growing demand for its services from a population trying to return to some semblance of normalcy even as COVID stubbornly refuses to move on, the Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island’s (JCCGCI) Senior Citizen Transportation Program, founded in 1981 and serving older adults throughout the borough of Brooklyn, has been facilitating an increasing number of rides for its clients, with new applications pouring in at a steady pace.

Given the difficulty of obtaining medical appointments, the closure of all senior centers and the ever-present fear of COVID that kept the elderly from venturing out during the pandemic, the volume of calls for transportation plummeted in 2020 and 2021. Those numbers have rebounded significantly in recent months and the program currently assists over 6,000 clients annually, providing an average of more than 500 trips per day and 130,000 trips each year.

Serving clients age 60 and over, the Senior Citizen Transportation Program has a fleet of wheelchair accessible minibuses and also subcontracts services with over a dozen car, bus and ambulette companies throughout Brooklyn. In addition to ferrying clients to medical appointments, senior centers, grocery stores and other essential locations, the program’s English, Russian, Yiddish, Hungarian and Spanish speaking drivers take passengers on small group trips to various destinations including shopping centers and recreational and educational sites.

Thanks to a recently upgraded state-of-the-art management information system (MIS) utilizing advanced technology, JCCGCI’s Senior Citizen Transportation Program is able to manage this massive number of daily rides provided to this huge number of clients residing throughout Brooklyn with utmost efficiency and accountability.

Being homebound has taken a toll on JCCGCI’s elderly clients, the inability to access transportation creating very real health and emotional issues for many older adults. But the current increase in demand for transportation services is a strong indicator that the pandemic has shifted into a recovery phase and program director Avigail Adler is gratified to see her clients, many of whom are Holocaust survivors, feeling confident enough to go out once again.  In recent months, Adler has received 500 applications from new clients looking to take advantage of JCCGCI’s transportation services, which often go beyond just giving rides.

“We offer one-stop shopping for our clients, who might call for transportation services, but as part of a larger social services agency, we can refer them to other programs,” explained Adler. “A client might mention an issue to someone in our call center and our staff is always listening for other ways that they can be of help.”

While the Senior Citizen Transportation Program primarily provides local rides within Brooklyn, it also takes clients to medical appointments elsewhere in the five boroughs. Clients arrange rides in advance to their chosen destinations and contact the program’s call center when they are ready to be picked up for their return trip home.

Rabbi Moshe Wiener, executive director of the JCCGCI, noted that the Senior Citizen Transportation Program is currently in its fortieth year and has been recognized in both the government and private sector as one of the largest and most professional programs of its kind. JCCGCI is currently seeking new and expanded resources in both the public and private sectors in order to better respond to the rising demand for transportation from the elderly, providing them with critical access to health-enhancing services and appointments.

“Mobility is often one of the first functions to become impaired with advancing age,” observed Rabbi Wiener. “We are grateful to have had such a transformative impact on the quality of life of thousands of our older adults.”

Seniors who avail themselves of JCCGCI’s transportation services have been quick to sing the program’s praises.

“Because of your services, I feel safer and calmer as I know I can always count on you,” said one client, who suffers from limited vision, brought on by macular degeneration. “Thank you for making my life better.”

“Without the help of JCCGCI transportation there would be no life,” added another client. “I would rarely be able to get to my doctor for medical help. G-d bless you all.”