Even though she has just a few months under her belt as the first-ever executive director for ItN Lanier, Dana Chapman has plenty of ideas for moving the senior transportation service into the future.
Chapman recently hosted a reception for the volunteers that keep the fledgling non-profit moving - literally and figuratively - and talked about what the agency does for senior adults in the Hall County area.
ItN Lanier grew out of an idea floated five years ago via the Wisdom Project, a collaboration of Brenau University's BULLI program and the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce Vision 2030 program. The group knew that there needed to be a viable form of transportation for the growing senior population in the area, and group members discovered ItN.
"They spoke to the founder of the organization and the interesting story about her...her son was struck by a car when he was six. The car was driven by an impaired senior driver," Chapman said. "She created transportation for the people who no longer needed to be driving, so the community would be safer [and] the seniors would remain independent and vital."
Chapman said every ItN functions differently, but basically, each senior rider is a member of ItN who pays an annual fee for the service, in addition to a per-ride fee. Chapman said there are scholarships available, as well.
When ItN Lanier gave its first rides in 2016, drivers were giving two to three rides per week; now, they're giving 50 to 60 rides per week. Chapman said she sees nothing but rapid growth for the service.
"We've hired a full time office manager, I'm the first executive director ever of the organization. We have a paid part-time driver and I need to hire real soon another paid part-time driver," Chapman said. "We will have a fleet of our own vehicles at some point - we have one car so far."
Chapman cautions folks, though, that ItN is a far cry from a taxi service.
"Our office manager gets to know people - what kind of pocketbook do they carry, what barbershop do they go to, what shoes do they need tied before they get in the car - our drivers go into the home," Chapman said. "Some people have said to me in sort of an off-hand way 'Oh, it's just Uber for old people'...what we're doing is door-through-door, arm-in-arm."
In addition, Chapman said as she dives into her first year on the job, she'll use her years of experience as an advocate for seniors to forge partnerships for ItN Lanier with other community agencies.
Listen to the interview with Dana Chapman and AccessWDUN's B.J. Williams via the audio player accompanying this article.
