LEWISTON – Three days a week, 75-year-old veteran Bill Henshaw rises at 4 a.m. to work for free.

He drives veterans to see their doctors.

“I know there are fellas out there who need a ride,” said Henshaw, a Sabattus retiree who typically begins his route before dawn. “Somebody has to do it.”

Across Maine, only 26 people are volunteering to help the Veterans Administration, driving a fleet of vans across the state to the VA hospital at Togus.

They need help. Since 2004, when the VA began requiring physicals of its aging driving corps, their numbers have plummeted. Older people, many in frail health, left.

Prior to the physical requirement, Maine had 63 volunteer drivers. With fewer than half that many left, the system is getting by, but just barely.

The remaining 26 drivers traveled an estimated 450,000 miles in the past year and supplied rides to 6,000 veterans.

“We need drivers everywhere,” said Henshaw, who also volunteers as the adjutant general of Maine’s Disabled American Veterans. His agency runs the transportation program and supplies the VA with its vans.

So the nonprofit group, whose primary job is advocating for disabled veterans, has been gearing up its public relations.

Representatives have visited Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion halls. There are queries for volunteers on the DAV’s Web site – www.davmaine.com – and on some public-access cable systems. Recruitment posters are displayed in VA clinics.

It has worked in little ways, said Linda Neptune, the hospital services coordinator at Togus.

In July and August, the efforts brought in five new volunteers, she said. Each new person completed an orientation class, a physical and passed a background check on their driving history.

Volunteering is a commitment, though not as extreme as some people guess, Henshaw said. The physical is routine, though poor eyesight, heart trouble or insulin-dependent diabetes can disqualify people.

“We have people who are classified ‘100 percent disabled’ from working who can still drive,” Henshaw said.

Drivers don’t have to be veterans nor do they have to be available every day.

“Whatever bits and pieces you can give us, we’ll take,” Neptune said.

There are signs that the demand on the volunteer system may be growing.

Henshaw has begun seeing several new riders, people whom he guesses are trying to avoid the cost of rising gasoline prices.

And some are learning of the free service for the first time.

Neptune recently contacted an elderly couple who had been taking a taxi from Augusta to the hospital, running up fares of $13 each way. They began riding with the other newcomers.

The volunteers will keep up as well as possible, Neptune promised.

The system’s weakest area is in Aroostook County, where there is no regular help. And only one driver serves Washington County.

The commitment there is tougher than closer places. The distances force drivers to take two days for a single round trip.

“We can get better, but we need help,” Neptune said.

For breakout:

Since 2004, the number of volunteer drivers has fallen from 63 to 26.

In the past year, they have traveled an estimated 450,000 miles and given rides to 6,000 veterans.

Copy the Story Link